if you live in santa clara county and you want to be vaccinated, we can make sure that can happen. now at 4:30, slashing the red tape. the new deal just reached that will help you get the covid shot faster in some bay area counties. plus, what researchers are saying this morning about how soon they predict we could reach herd immunity. >> we have to go out in pairs, record any suspicious activity. >> the asian-american community on high alert. this is all new threats surfaced. the steps taken to prevent the spread of hate. "today in the bay" starts right now.

and a good thursday morning to you. thank you for starting your morning with us. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm cierra johnson in for laura garcia. we'll get to traffic in one moment. it's been a beautiful week, kari. what is in store for the weekend ahead? well, we're going to have some more really nice weather. here's a live look outside as a lot of people are already up and out the door heading through the tri-valley. we've had some gusty winds in some of these spots. temperatures in the upper 40s. we'll hold steady here for another few hours, and then we'll see our temperatures warming up, but it won't be as warm as yesterday, and we'll have some more clouds in the mix as well. so we're looking at temperatures reaching up to 64 in oakland. 61 in san jose as well as 61 today in san francisco. we'll talk about some much warmer temperatures in our weekend forecast. that's coming up in a few minutes. mike, how is it looking for that early morningcommute? well, kari, the map looks a little bit different, so i want to point this out to folks if

you join us early, you get tutoring. the arrow, the speed sensors, fine at the toll plaza. on the peninsula side it's that san francisco area where we have the light, pale yellow, wind registering. as well as the altamont pass. gusty winds across the bay bridge and the altamont. back to you. >> thanks, mike. getting your covid shot quicker. santa clara county has signed an agreement. this is with the state allowing them to retain control over vaccine distribution. following weeks of negotiations. "today in the bay's" cheryl hurd shows us what this agreement means for you. i wasn't really sure that i was eligible yet by reading the page, so i called them. >> reporter: yolanda martinez is getting her vaccine in four days. the process was a little confusing for her but not so much for blaine rodgers.

because it was all prearranged so it wasn't complicated for us. it may be complicated for a lot of other people. >> reporter: seven bay area health directors sent this letter to the state requesting that they be able to retain local control over covid-19 vaccine distribution. the move comes after persistent criticism of california's plan to have blue shield manage the distribution of doses. the goal was for blue shield to streamline the process. but the my turn website had problems. santa clara county signed the agreement late today. >> if you live in santa clara county and you want to be vaccinated, we can make sure that can happen. >> reporter: that's important for santa clara county because of what happened earlier this month. it was forced to cancel thousands of second dose appointments due to a miscommunication. county supervisor cindy chavez says part of the problem was having to cut through the red tape. now residents and workers can continue using the county's appointment signup system. and chavez believes it will get

the vaccine to the public faster. >> we'll be able to go to your home with the mobile unit. we'll be able to do stand-up vaccination sites, pop-up sites or these large sites. as the vaccine becomes available we'll be able to meet the need at the local level. >> reporter: alameda, contra costa and marin county plan to sign the agreement. health officials in marin county say they got onboard with the other bay area health directors to make sure people of color have access to the vaccine. >> being able to have control to be able to provide appointments to the hard-to-reach groups is another factor in us achieving equitable vaccine distribution. >> reporter: the goal, however, in santa clara county is to get everyone vaccinated by mid-summer. cheryl hurd, "today in the bay." covid infections across the state continue to plunge, according to the state department of health yesterday nearly 2,000 infections were added along with 254 deaths. keep in mind on january 4th

during that winter surge more than 60,000 were added to the state's overall total in a single day. a stark contrast as the highest number of states since january are reporting a rise in new covid cases. experts are, in part, blaming those not taking precautions during spring break and are worried a rise in cases could spread to california. and with that in mind we may be one step closer to exiting the pandemic. a study at clinical reference laboratory shows twice as many people tested positive for covid-19 antibodies. they say the number of people with natural immunity is getting us closer to herd immunity. 60% to 80% of a population will have to be immune for that to happen. dramatic differences to report in the updated data for astrazeneca's covid vaccine. the company earlier this week

turned in numbers some health leaders claim were cherry picked. the phase three trial fell mostly in line. it's said to be 76% effective. the drug maker still maintains its vaccine is 100% effective in preventing severe disease and hospitalization. >> if you want to know where to get your vaccine, go to planyourvaccine.com. 4:36. in just a few hours the man suspected of shooting and killing ten people in a boulder grocery store is set to appear before a judge. prosecutors have not yet formally charged 21-year-old ahmad alissa. he is being held in boulder county in a jail on suspicion of ten counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder. this is according to online court records. those records also show that he has been assigned a public defender. and community patrols across bay area's asian-american and pacific islander community are

trying to get the word out. they want people to be aware after potentially dangerous game that could be a threat to their safety. nbc bay area's sergio quintana reports from san francisco's chinatown. >> reporter: the concern has spread so fast -- >> when we woke up -- >> reporter: members of the united peace collaborative started getting messages -- >> through social media, facebook messenger. we've been getting messages that there's a game that's going around that's a challenge where they slap an asian, and this is very, very disturbing to us. >> reporter: it spread so far and wide that a former reality show contestant who lives in los angeles took to twitter to issue a warning. if anyone is around the bay area, there's a rumor going around that people are playing slap an asian today. please be careful and watch your surroundings. but with no verified incidents of this happening the citizen patrol groups are trying not to cause any problems either. >> as important it is to get the word out and the media is the best platform, there's such a thing as a copycat crime.

>> reporter: to avoid any panic over these concerns the united peace collaborative is reminding residents about personal safety practices they should always be following. >> we have to go out in pairs, look out for each other, record any suspicious activity, and if somebody approaches you, make sure that you don't let them get close to you. >> reporter: these warnings come as mayor london breed announce as safety program aimed at members of the city's asian-american and pacific islander community. the street violence intervention program has been in operation in some of the city's other neighborhoods but mayor breed says expanding it to include chinatown is a necessary step. >> this new program, along with all the other efforts that we are trying to do to prevent violent in our api community in san francisco i think will help make a real difference. >> reporter: some seniors in chinatown appreciate having more police officers on patrol in the neighborhood. sergio quintana, "today in the bay." 4:38. reeling from the pandemic still

ahead on "today in the bay." all new numbers show the major drop in tourists visiting san francisco. the next steps local leaders are outlining for the industry to recover. plus, working to reshape main street, finance the big move fidelity is making and what it could mean for your savings plan. you're watching "today in the bay." how do i use better than bouillon? i just add a spoonful to my marinades... ...to stir frys... ...sauces... just whisk it in... ...brush it on ...sauté it. it adds a "cooked all day taste" ...that doesn't take all day. better than bouillon.

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starting out with some cool temperatures weather you're home schooling or sending your kids to school for today. in oakland we'll see those temperatures in the low 50s to start and overall a fairly nice day. you will need that jacket even into the afternoon. we'll talk about when we can take the jackets off, put on the sunglasses. a look ahead to the weekend forecast coming up. and we're still traffic reporting from home as well. that's fine. i like my environment. the environment around freeways moving smoothly. the nimitz, a crash further east. we'll check on that. first we'll check in with our friend bertha. yeah, i don't feel like i'm trapped. not so bad being at home. good morning to you. i'm bertha coombs from cnbc. we're tracking the futures right now and it looks like stocks are going to open slightly lower at this point.

it's really kind of extending the seesaw nature in trading the last couple of days. yesterday we were fairly high and then just crashed going into the end. the nasdaq in particular was down about 2% as apple, facebook and netflix all fell about 2%. tesla was down nearly 5%. the dow had been up as much as 300 points during the day and then in the last few seconds just dipped into the red on the day. we saw cruise lines and a lot of the reopening trades like airlines also fairly weak yesterday after having been strong on tuesday. this morning we're going to be watching for the latest report on unemployment claims. folks filing for those benefits. meantime, fidelity looks like it's going to get into the bitcoin game. they're going to launch a fund that tracks the price of bitcoin expanding their push to bring cryptocurrencies into the mainstream. the etf will aim to match an

index that takes spot prices from various bitcoin markets, could be available on large brokerage and wealth management site that oversees trillions of dollars of individual investors' assets. not sure if you'll be able to do that in your 401(k) necessarily. fidelity is among the first major financial firms to embrace cryptocurrencies. and young brands is coming up with a new way to order takeout. the owners of kfc, taco bell and pizza hut bought a startup you can order through text. the software can turn around a customer's order as quickly as 60 seconds. some sales at yum's that have risen at the restaurants they've used it at, they've tried it at around 900 restaurants in 35 countries. back to you, cierra and marcus.

i've lost my prompter this morning so back to good old paper. >> good old paper and good old pizza. thanks, bertha. well, new deals are coming to those who get vaccinated. you may remember this week krispy kreme create add firestorm after announcing it would give away free doughnuts to vaccinated people. some bay area restaurants are offering similar promotions. "the sf gate" reports super burger is offering free fries and uno dos tacos giving out free chips and salsa. you just have to post a picture of yourself using the #covidvaccine. new this morning those who love dyson vacuums have something to celebrate. so the company is out with an all-new vacuum that can actually shine a laser on dirt not visible to the naked eye. once the vacuum has run over an area the laser will let you know if you missed anything. listen up, this is not cheap. it will run you about $700. hmm.

maybe i can borrow some money, cierra. 4:45 for you this morning. pushing to get back to normal. next on "today in the bay," the growing calls for the hotel industry to allow conventions to resume and the big changes they're promising to make if events are allowed again. we'll be right back. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

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4:48, and a live look at sfo. a lot more people are traveling today but, you know what, here in the bay area why would you

need to travel anywhere with the weather we've been having. meteorologist kari hall has a look at what we can expect today. like cierra was saying earlier it's been amazing, just beautiful out there. it has and we've been spending a lot of time outside. we're going to have a slight change today. we are starting out with some of those really gusty winds in some spots. you're probably hearing those winds howling as we take a look at these wind speeds in oakland. 25 miles per hour. 31 right now in san mateo, and we've also seen some north bay winds especially in some of our hills and mountains, and it's going to be a breezy day as we head to the peninsula, get a look at our hiking forecast, yes, get outside. we're starting out with some clouds but we will see more temperatures here stay nice and cool with some mid-50s. but we will have some slightly warmer temperatures for the inland areas. let's go to the south bay, a high of 62 degrees today expected in morgan hill. now this is cooler than we've

had the past couple of days, and it's a little bit cooler than normal, but we do have a warm-up in the forecast. you're probably already seeing that right now at the bottom of the screen. as we take a look at our temperatures in antioch and concord reaching 66, we'll stay in the 50s in half moon bay and mostly 50s in san francisco as well and for the north bay expect highs in the low 60s. this will be the coolest day in the forecast and what we'll see in quite a while as high pressure continues to build. it's going to keep our weather dry and also cause some warming especially this weekend. and going into next week we're looking at more of the same weather as that high pressure remains in control and stays right over the bay area. so take a look at all of this sunshine in the forecast. temperatures today reaching ar by the end of the weekend, it will be a little bit cooler for monday, but it will still be very nice and comfortable at

least through the middle of next week. mike, any issues for the roads popping up right now? the wind, kari, you talked about, chp gave a little warning for a couple of spots. we'll call them out because they're not the san mateo or bay bridge which would be your usual suspects. green sensors, great stuff. sensors are changing in the tri-valley. may change here 680. i've circled the crash involving a big rig and a tesla around andrade. no injuries and no slowing. i marked the altamont pass over on the right, and that's one note from chp, another for the antioch bridge. both have high-wind advisories but no problems. the bay bridge a smooth drive, marcus. back to you. >> thanks, mike. we're learning more about the deadly crash involving a dublin unified district trustee. catherine kuo was volunteering at a food distribution event in dublin yesterday morning when she was hit and pinned between two cars. paramedics rushed her to the

hospital where she later died. the interim superintendent released a statement saying in part she dedicated so much of her heart, soul, and time to our community, our schools, students, staff, and families are forever indebted to her. asian-americans in san leandro are getting robbed more often than other demographics in the city. a crime analyst broke down all of the city's crimes from last year by demographics. asian-americans make up 36% of the city's population, and they are more likely to be robbed than any other group. violent crimes against asian-americans jumped over 280% from 2019. one asian woman says she fears for her parents when they leave their home. >> my parents go out and they meet someone, be attacked for no reason. >> the report revealed 8 out of every 1,000 were robbed last year.

remembers lobbying to reopen for conventions and meetings. more than 100 groups including some right here in the bay area are behind this effort. industry leaders are promising to practice all cdc guidelines including social distancing. meetings and conventions, as you would imagine, play a large part in bringing visitors and revenue to hotels and industries hit really hard by the pandemic. state health officials say they're currently working on meeting reopening guidance. california is also the only state in the u.s. to have not restarted conventions. well, a new report shows san francisco took a huge hit last year in its tourism sector. the san francisco travel association says visitors to the city were down 61% from 2019, and they say they only spent $2.3 billion in 2020, down almost 78%. sfo experienced a huge loss as well, passenger traffic was down 71% last year. and experts say it will take years to recover from that loss

of 2020. well, pausing in-person events. next on "today in the bay," the growing number of covid cases being reported at san jose state this morning and the all-new concerns on that campus. happening now, a family of a black teen is suing the woman who claimed their 14-year-old son stole her cell phone along with a new york hotel where this happened. you may remember that incident back in december. that video of the confrontation went viral. she actually yelled, rushed, and even tackled the teenager all while yelling for him to return the phone. the young man never had the phone. the hotel returned it to her. she is facing attempted robbery and assault charges. we'll be right back.

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4:56. welcome back. so a major pause for san jose state spartans after covid cases and contact tracing have been linked to the football team. the school's athletic department hasn't confirmed how many positive tests are tied to the team. according to "the east bay times" players, coaches and staff are being tested three times a week since the beginning of january. the team was set to start practicing next week for spring training and their first spring game is scheduled for may 1st. well, two is oftentimes better than one. case in point the san jose sharks, who last night took on the l.a. kings for the second time in just three days, the sharks won monday night's game. last night at the shark tank it was scoreless in the second period when the sharks scored two goals. in the end they doubled up the kings, 4-2, or twice as nice, as they might say. that was a tongu twister. well, trending this morning the world's biggest puzzle. >> yes, a man from germany spent

five months putting it together. it contains 54,000 pieces, nearly 30 feet long, and shows an art gallery with visitors. the man was missing just one piece, but he got the company to send him the missing piece and morning, the first for president biden. a live report on some of the tough questions he's prepared to answer in his first news conference since taking office. plus, outlining plans to return the school bay area districts revealing when some students can return in-person learning. we'll be right back.

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now at 5:00, addressing the nation. from north korea to the white house press conference and the 100-year record he's breaking in the process. if you live in santa clara county and you want to be vaccinated, we can make sure that can happen. >> lashing the red tape, the new deal that will help you get your covid shot faster in some bay area counties. and coronavirus and the classrooms. contra costa returns to in-class learning today. a live report ahead on why some parents believe the effort still comes up short. "today in the bay" continues now. good thursday morning. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm cierra johnson in for laura garcia. a new first for president biden in his first 100 days. here is a live look at the whi