>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. kristen: hi there. i'm kristen sze. you are watching giving -- getting answers, live on abc 7. we get answers in real-time. students into many open spots. rolling out the red carpet to entice students to apply. we will talk to the assistant vice chancellor of enrollment. plus, businesses back in a big wake in san francisco. why the industrial city is doing so well, and are there giveaways for our struggling neighbor of

north, san francisco? we will answer those questions. but first, a potential game changer in the fight against cancer. after once giving up on the stability of developing vaccines to prevent cancer, new research is giving doctors help. joining us now is dr. shukla, assistant director at md anderson in texas, who directs a cancer vaccine program there. dr. shukla, thank you for joining us today. dr. shukla: thank you, kristen, for having me. kristen: the best we can hope for is really increasing treatments, but you are telling me it is not a dream, it is possible to develop a vaccine against cancer. is that right? dr. shukla: that is absolutely right. if you think about the immune system, i think most people do

not realize, but vaccines have been the single most successful public health campaign in human history. we have diseases in humanity, so the immune system is the same, and using the same kinds of principles, we can now train the immune system to specifically recognize cancer cells, especially at our earliest stages, when they are just getting formed or potentially even before they are fully formed into precancerous dates. so, yes, this is the first humane, less like a dream, more like a reality, and sometime in the near future, potentially. b.a.r.t. -- kristen: wow. what kind of cancers are you hoping to develop vaccines for? dr. shukla: right. the essential idea is agnostic, meaning the immune system does not make too much of a difference between, let's say, a

breast cancer tissue versus a brain cancer tissue, versus leukemia, for that matter. what it cares about is what is different, right? that is what drives the immune system. if you think about an immune system, how does the immune system know that this is how we go after a cell? an otherwise healthy cell, what it is -- when it is affected by a virus, like the sars-cov-2 virus we have been dealing with, or a flu virus, for that matter, or bacteria, these raise red flags that the immune system is able to identify and launch an attack against. in cancer, the same thing happens, except it is not an external infection, at least, you know, for the non-bodily driven cancers, but essentially changes that happen within the

cancer, which we call mutations come of that now raise very similar red flags that the immune system can recognize. so, in theory, the vaccine approach could really work across a broad spectrum of cancers, but we have to understand that the kinds of red flags that are raised by different cancers will be different, right? so we have to build different vaccines for different kinds of cancers. kristen: i know initially come anyway, the "new york times" article talked about pancreatic,:, and breast cancers. we don't think react is so deadly, and colon, breast cancers are very common among the leading killers, of cancers. if it were to happen, how many deaths could we prevent out of the 600,000 cancer deaths we have in the u.s. every year? dr. shukla: so that is a loaded question. [laughs] how soon can this happen? well, we like to be cautiously

optimistic, you know, right now, the trials are underway. i think, you know, the theme has come a long way pure we have been trying cancer vaccines for a while, and actually we do have an approved prevented vaccine, the hpv vaccine, right? which prevents against a whole host, including cervical cancer, but other kinds of cancers, certain types of those kinds of cancer spread so we do have an improved preventive cancer vaccine. the question is, can we translate this to other chemo types, right? we will learn as we go. it is a little difficult to speculate when, how soon this could happen. the second part of the question is the type of impact this will have, and this is my personal opinion, but i think the implications are huge, right? because we have been investing a

lot in finding a cure, and in the last, i would say, 15, 20 years, we have made very significant progress in that direction, and we will continue to make direction and that progress. but nothing really beats early detection and preventing cancer in the first place, right? so these two aspects, early detections, there are a number of fantastic efforts that are underway, to put early the section of cancers from a very simple blood test, for example, and then, based on that, we can then actually have vaccines that can work in a semi-personalized fashion, right? so depending on the kind of cancer and the kind of red flag that the patient has, we can get him that particular vaccine. kristen: i see. i think you read my mind, because i was about to ask you, do you envision these vaccines, like, you know, mmr or covid,

but everyone get that, or is it people who come to you with a family history of that kind of cancer, or if it is the kind of genetic testing, which you referred to. what do you think? how broad would it be? dr. shukla: so i think a lot of folks will stand to benefit from vaccines we are specifically talking about the preventive case here, but really vaccines, at least in my mind, are going to emerge as a letter of cancer care -- a pillar of cancer care. if you think of the spectrum, the history ois there, those who have the precancerous polyps or the precancerous stages, you know, roughly 80% to 85% of cancers do have the precancerous stage, which is not quite cancer yet, but there is a very high likelihood that it will become a cancer at some point, right? so you have the precancerous

stage, the new have patients who had very early disease, stage 1 and stage 2 diseases, then we have folks who have been treated and are currently cancer free, and this is a huge need, right? who are at very high risk of relapsing. many times, when the relapse happens, this is when the cancer is very aggressive, and, you know, it ends up claiming lives. then there is the factory setting, where nothing is working, right? along this spectrum, i think different formulations, different combinations, right? so vaccines, almost by principle, will work best when the disease burden is low, right? so that is why, you know, in cases where the patient has a predisposition or precancerous, you know, the disease has not really become manifest in a big way it has spread to different parts of the body, you know, few treatments work well in that

setting, and vaccines are no exception. but in cases where the disease burden is low, or it is an early-stage, or the patient is at a high risk of relapse, that is the setting where i think cancer vaccines will work most effectively, and in the more advanced stages of the disease, i think vaccines will work or help the outcomes in conjunction with other treatments, right? so you combine it with chemo or the drug and give the vaccine. the good thing about vaccines, i will quickly add, is that they are, for the most part, fairly non-toxic, right? so this makes it very attractive. you think about breast cancer, right? people have these precancerous stage, and they panic, naturally, and some get invasive surgery, chemotherapies, radiations. what if we could replace that with a vaccine, and effectively take care, right, it is non-toxic, relatively cheap, and

we are all used to getting vaccines, ok, if i could take care of the. cancer in a very early-stage i think the potential is huge -- if that could take care of the cancer in a very early stage and i think that potential is huge. kristen: dr. shukla, thank you. the research is fascinating. please keep us posted. dr. shukla: will do, and thank you so much for doing the story pete i think, you know, there is a need for renewed public interest in the state. kristen: absolutely. thank you. coming up next, folks, a new challenge for cal state schools. it involves enrollment. why

naomi: every year the wildfires, the smoke seems to get worse. jessica: there is actual particles on every single surface. dr. cooke: california has the worst air pollution in the country. the top 2 causes are vehicles and wildfires. prop 30 helps clean our air. it will reduce the tailpipe emissions that poison our air kevin: and helps prevent the wildfires that create toxic smoke that's why calfire firefighters, the american lung association, and the coalition for clean air support prop 30. naomi: i'm voting yes on 30.

kristen: college graduates have

lower unemployment rates and earn higher salaries. indeed.com's survey last year found out high school graduates are earned just over $700 weekly, while a college graduate earns $1100 weekly. so why is enrollment drastically down at the largest public university system in the country? we are talking about the cal state system. going is now is dr. april globo, assistant vice chancellor for enrollment services for the csu system. thank you for your time. how much is enrollment down by? dr. grommo: the good news is, enrollment is not down by much. the governor and legislators have provided us funding for 10,000 more new students at the csu. in addition, we have our graduation initiative 2025 that we have been working very hard

on the last several years to increase our graduation rates, which we have done so so successfully so we have come in the past, admit more students throughout the state of california. kristen: are you saying that the number of applications you have received over the past couple of years do not reflect a downward trend compared to, let's say, 5, 10 years ago? dr. grommo: our applications have consistently got up for first time freshman. what we have seen is a downturn in our transfer applications, and that is a national thing, for community college enrollment not only nationally but the california community colleges as well. kristen: i see. it has been widely reported that community college enrollment is down, especially during the pandemic. there are a lot of issues related to that, including affordability and just the calendars logistically and also questions over the value of a college education.

can you speak to those points, i'm sure those are points you are trying to drive across as you encourage more enrollment and applications. dr. grommo: well, the csu at all 24 of our universities are available. we have over 4000 majors and really capacity and access to provide an excellent quality education to all of our students. as far as affordability goes, the csu has one of the most affordable tuitions in the country. our tuition is the same for all 23 campuses. it is important to note that 77% of our students that apply for financial aid have their tuition fully covered, and also, 56% of our bachelors degree students that graduate, they also graduate debt-free. kristen: so do you find yourself talking to students who say, i don't think i can afford to go to ethno-state -- sf state, and

then you have to tell them, yes you can? dr. grommo: that is exactly our point and also one of the reasons i am here talking to you today. we want to make sure the students understand a csu education is supreme quality and also affordable. kristen: let me ask you this. president biden recently relieve the student that, working with congress for it i also wonder if that relieve the debt of future, incoming students. is that something that can help drive enrollment? dr. grommo: the debt relief, as it stands today, is not for future students, it is for students that were currently enrolled or past students, but a lot of csu graduates, and even our current students, were eligible for the debt relief. kristen: alright, well, certainly i am sure you are getting the word out to students. i want to ask you about governor newsom and the legislature, you mention, made more money available to the csu system, both the one

billion-dollar one-time funding, and it increases each year by some $360 million, which is massive. you said that will allow you to take on tens of thousands of more students. what else will that many allow you to do? kristen: we continue to support -- dr. grommo: we continue to support students in all areas, not only in the classroom but outside of the classroom, with basic needs support, making sure students are eligible for our food pantries. we also continue to make sure that we have mental health counselors, and all the support services that students need to be successful, both inside the classroom and outside of the classroom. kristen: now that you have these extra spots available, how will you, i guess, compete with students against the other university systems out there? what are you trying to tell them about csu? dr. grommo: well, we are really trying to share and pressed her students that now is the time to apply for a fall 2023 admission

cycle, so applications open october 1, and our priority application deadline is november 30. and we really want to understand that they can get an excellent four-year education in anything from nursing to liberal studies, become a teacher, educator, or even social work, so that they can contribute to their future success, their families, and also the communities that they serve. kristen: you know, if you meet the minimum requirements, in terms of gpa, are you in? or is it still selective, especially at some of the campuses in the bay, like san jose state, cal state east bay, or sf state, and some of the program? dr. grommo: all of our campuses have some programs that are a little bit more selective, because they get more applications than they have space available for students, but for the most part, if you meet the minimum eligibility,

you would be offered a seat of admission at one of the campuses you applied to. if not, we have a room called redirection -- a program called redirection, so if a student does not get admitted to a camp as they apply to, we redirect into a campus that has capacity. . but san francisco state, cal state east, sonoma state, hey hey work, even san jose state has a lot of capacity in the bay area to support students interested in attending one of the 23 campuses in the area. kristen: all right, dr. april grommo, assistant vice chancellor for enrollment services and admissions director for csu, check it out, applications are open for next fall. thank you so much. dr. grommo: thank you. kristen: coming, paving the way for success after the pandemic. how they are doing at what other

i'm karen. i'm living with hiv and i'm on cabenuva. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. it's two injections from a healthcare provider. i really like the flexibility. and for me, it's one less thing to think about while traveling. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic

to its ingredients or if you taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression. if you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have liver problems or mental health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. some of the most common side effects include injection-site reactions, fever, and tiredness. if you switch to cabenuva, attend all treatment appointments. ready to treat your hiv in a different way? ask your doctor about every-other-month cabenuva. with every-other-month cabenuva, i'm good to go. kristen: san francisco is

struggling to fill its downtown vacancies and attracting workers back, but as our media partner the san francisco standard reports, a neighboring city just down 101 is doing just fine, thank you very much, and that city's south san francisco. joining us live to take a look at what is the staff reporter of the story, sarah wright. hi, sarah. sarah: hi, kristen, how are you? kristen: i'm good. as the economy recovers, south san francisco is booming. tell us about the city, which many people know about from the big sign on the south of the san bernardino mountains. sarah: yeah, so i was actually down there last wednesday, and the streets were alive. there were people at restaurants, and all i could think of was, wow, that is not what downtown looks like today. i was down there for a ribbon-cutting event for the biotech company amgen, which is

opening a new facility in south san francisco, and it really just felt like the city had come alive, and i wanted to look at why. kristen: all right, so why? what, when you look deeper into it, it's happening beneath the surface? sarah: south san francisco happens to have a couple of advantages. it is in a pretty fun location. it has the benefit of being close to san francisco while also being a little bit smaller. so it benefits from that, especially during the pandemic. we are also close to major transportation hubs for we have got san francisco airport, a bunch of stops him and it is kind of on the way to large institutions. but the real reason that i uncovered was, you know, biotechnology is a main industry in south san francisco, and that

industry did not take as big of a head as regular technology did during the pandemic. so a lot of those companies decided to stay open. they needed to keep their workers in person throughout the pandemic, and today, they are building new facilities. kristen: and when you talk biotech, you cannot talk about the biggest, and i want to share that and ask why you think biotech is perhaps a more covid-resistant industry rather than, say, tech, which dominated san francisco. sarah: what the biotech companies told me is that their work was not interrupted quite as much as the regular technology sector. they were still doing research and development during the pandemic at an even faster pace, knowing the importance of their work during something like a

global pandemic. they had workers coming in person, and the industry really grew a lot over the last couple of years. they told me that they want to stay in south san francisco, because that is where the talent is. and that is where you have access to, you know, people we are seeing on the tech side in san francisco, and people down in silicon valley, there was already this talent. kristen: so what benefits have south san francisco derive from this industry? sarah: the city, which charges things like development impact fees, so every time that, you know, any large company wants to expand its campus or build a new campus, billed for labs, or build housing, for example, for the workers, south san francisco

is able to capture taxes, basically, and those taxes go to cities like parks, libraries, the folks in the city told me that they really encourage this kind of development, and they really want to make this process as easy as possible. kristen: that leads me to my last question, which is, are these unique factors you cited, things we are lucky to have, but other cities cannot really replicate, or are they things that other struggling cities like san francisco can learn from and borrow? sarah: on the firsthand, the advantage of proximity. we saw during the pandemic big cities suffering. but san francisco could learn from its neighbor to the south things like trying to derive benefits from commercial building as opposed to housing building.

there's also the opportunity to diversify san francisco's sectors that are downtown. today, we still have about 40% of san francisco office space that is dedicated to technology. so if they were able to branch off things like biotech even, that could prove more resilient in the future. kristen: all right, sarah, good reporting can great conversation. thank you so much. you can check out more the san francisco standard's other original reporting on their website, at thestandard.com. website, at thestandard.com. ♪♪ i'm in the middle. oh, ok. ha ha. we're all in the middle. we're at starved rock state park, smack dab in the middle of illinois, smack dab in the middle of everything. where nature and history

beckon you to walk down the middle of an ancient trail. hey, you know what's great after a hike. an artisanal microbrew. caw, that's a falcon cry, ha ha. illinois the middle of everything. ♪♪ life is busy. so, come to shell and get three things done at once. first, fill up with shell v-power nitro+ to help keep your engine running like new. nice! then save up with the fuel rewards program and never pay full price for gas again. oh wow! and, finally, snack up to save even more at the pump. that's great! make the most of the stop you need to make with shell. wait! there's three of me? awesome!

kristen: thank you so much for joining us for getting answers today. we will be here every day at

3:00, on tonight, the abc news interview. former football star herschel walker, the republican candidate for senate in georgia, responding here to the allegations against him. one-on-one with herschel walker, who, as a candidate, opposes abortion without exceptions. facing allegations he paid for his ex-girlfriend's abortion. tonight, linsey davis asking him about the allegations, does he know the woman, has he spoken with her? tonight, what he insists about the woman behind the claims. linsey davis right here tonight. major news in the war in ukraine. vladimir putin unleashing new and deadly attacks across ukraine. hitting civilian targetss and critical infrastructure. president biden speaking with world leaders. and the president is asked today, is putin a rational actor? ian pannell in ukraine. here at home tonight, the

al