my husband is prediabetic, andmi epor she waited inine for almost two hours to get he e heren los angeles. she says that job at this time makes her feel like -- >> i'm playing roulette with my life. >> reporter: hernandez had covid back in november. she has seen the toll the virus has taken on the latino community. so far, latino californians only account for 16% of the people being vaccinated. while those who are black make up just 3%. white people lead the list at 32%. within the latino community, we have repeatedly heard that there is a concern that people who are undocumented m vaccsite. re's wnithr,to had -- >> wll immigration enforcement operations at or near vaccine sites. >> reporter: the sites in los angeles and oakland are part of president biden's plan to open 100 federally supported vaccine

sites. at least eight sites here in california had to close this week because they simply ran out of vaccine. now those sites get their supply from the state's stockpile. you foresee that being an issue here? >> no. this is a dedicated supply for the eight weeks of the pilot they're running here. that gives them up to 6,000 doses of vaccine per day over that eight-week period. >> the person who answered to us, really nice people, in five minutes they made the appointments. and today we were here. >> reporter: wow. you were car number two. >> really? oh -- yeah. >> reporter: what makes these site unique is that these are all active-duty military members deployed here to staff this site and administer the vaccines. one of the soldiers monitoring the rollout is sergeant first class carlos arona. >> right down the street here, at the end, is where my mother still lives. it's where i grew up. >> reporter: for him, this mission is personal.

how does it feel to be back? >> it actually feels good. feels really good. i wish you could see the smile on my face right now. >> reporter: aw. i can see it in your eyes. >> yeah. >> reporter: what are you thinking? >> i'm just proud to be here, you know, helping out. >> reporter: he told us his brother, sister, and son have all had covid. >> with them overcoming covid, having come out of it, you know, pushes me more to get the vaccine and to encourage my family to get the vaccine. >> reporter: back over at the vaccine site, just about 20 minutes away from where he grew up -- what do you think people, just the general public should take and make of these soldiers coming here to stand this up and conduct this for them? >> i feel like they should knowh >> reporter: carlos was telling us he's done three combat tours, but he said, "david, i never once thought i'd get deployed to my own hometown." his mother is planning to sign up to be vaccinated here. two ways, you can go on line or make a

phone call. for people who don't have access to either, guess what they're doing -- they're going to go out into the community and meet people where they are. they're going to start mobile vaccinations next week. >> david begnaud in l.a. almost all adults. parents are asking what about our kids? vaccines in the u.s. have not been tested on children here, but in uk, tests for young people. charlie d'agata in london. >> reporter: when the call went out, 16-year-old tilda stepped forward. >> it's cool. le aght be one of the only >> reporter: might be. in the blind trial, a control group will be given a meningitis shot instead. it mimics side effects of the virus and has been proven safe for children. around 300 brave volunteers aged

6 to 17 to see whether the oxford vaccine produces a strong immune response in children which is why 14-year-old ella chose to take part. >> to further the research and hopefully help and make sure that us kids can be safe and get the vaccine. >> reporter: a proud moment for parents. >> i think she's amazing. i saw the call for children volunteers, and i went and spoke to her, explained what the vaccine was about. and she volunteered without a hesitation. >> reporter: while most children aren't as susceptible to becoming seriously unwell with covid, researchers believe vaccinating young people could drive down transmission rates. >> it may be rather similar to the flu situation where with the influenza program we vaccinate children to protect them but also because that reduces transmission in the wider population to ensure that all of us are protected against the virus. >> reporter: the oxford vaccine hasn't even been approved yet in

the u.s., and while millions have received it here without any issues, we asked cbs news medical contributor dr. david agus what he thought. >> as confident as i may be in these vaccines, i'm not sure i would volunteer my two daughters for these trials. >> we're seeing people step up for those trials as volunteers. both the child and the parent have to sign consents. you know, they're heroes. they're stepping up to protect others. >> reporter: but are they safe? >> the answer is yes. i think uniformly we all think that the vaccines, the leading vaccine candidates, are safe in the elderly, are safe in adults, and are safe in children. >> reporter: in the fight against covid, there's no age limit for superheroes. while most children have been spared the worst of the virus, doctors say the pandemic has had a profound impact on their emotional well-being. one woman said her daughter just waedo future for everybody.

charlie d'agata reporting from london, you're watching the "cbs overnight news."

sarah, did you know geico could save you hundreds on car insurance and a whole lot more? hmm. so what are you waiting for? captain ahab to help you find a parking spot? thar she blows! whoops! loading zone. darn it. pull hard to starboard! too small! seriously? because it...ugh. oh! follow him! steady... steady... oh! thunderation! to the northern lot where there be parking spaces as big as whales! geico. see all the ways you could save.

it is black history month, and near at cbs news, we're recognizing those working to right the injustices of the past and bring their communities together. in laurens, south carolina, adriana diaz has the story. >> reporter: quiet laurens, south carolina, has harbored an open secret for decades. this, once a segregated cinema, the echo theater was long a meeting place for white supremacists. inside, redn cfederate flags, n propaganda, and ku klux klan apparel. local reverend david kennedy had been fighting to close the shop for years. >> it has always represented racism and humiliation for the black community. >> reporter: humiliation and terror. kennedy knows the oral history

of his own great-great grand uncle's lynching. >> as i listened to the story and connected with the picture, i felt like it was me hanging from the rope. >> white power! >> reporter: the theater was a symbol of that hate. this meeting in 2006 included members of the kkk, the aryan nation, and the nazi party. the theater's destiny took an almost cinematic turn. the building was owned by a reformed klansman who sold it to a black pastor who helped him through tough times. that pastor was reverend kennedy. >> we knew if we owned it, it would never be a ku klux klan shop again. the power of the building still lives. every time i go in there, i have to brace myself. >> reporter: the shop closed in 2012, and the reverend's now trying to transform the theater into a symbol of love with the

help of his new beginning missionary baptist church and an unexpected ally. 24-year-old reagan freeman. >> i believe in this. i do not know why it caught on to me. it's the right thing to do. >> reagan is a breath of fresh air. he's young, he's energetic, he stays pumped up. >> there is a reckoning taking place -- >> reporter: freeman was in college when this 2018 "60 minutes" story changed his life's course. oprah winfrey's report on the memorial honoring the thousands of african-americans lynched in the u.s. revealed an ugly truth about freeman's home county of laurens. >> every name has its own story. >> liza cowen was lynched in laurens county, south carolina -- >> she was lynched here, and that was never taught to me as i was growing up. it sat with me and bothered me to no end. that side or that side -- >> reporter: he did some digging, learned about reverend kennedy's goal for the theater, and offered to help.

>> i cold called reverend kennedy for him to take a chance and let me be a part of this, and to help his church push the rock up the hill. it's the honor of a lifetime. >> reporter: freeman's executive director of the echo project, the effort to convert the theater into a museum and memorial for diversity and reconciliation. it will display the racist relics it once housed. >> everything we have, you know, ranging from the artifacts to the oral histories of the people who lived this, it illustrates that this is not ancient history. it's our responsibility to really tell the truth here. >> reporter: how does it feel to have a young, southern, white man care about this mission in this deep way? >> it's a sign of hope. >> reporter: the project has t needs millions. reverend kennedy is undeterred. ♪ >> at a critical time, if our

democracy is going to be saved it must not be saved with racism and hatred. it must be saved by love. ♪ >> reporter: love and the people i'm adriana diaz.

"donorschoose! support a classroom, build a future!" at donorschoose.org we want students in every community to have the tools they need for a great education. and now more than ever, students and teachers need your help to get books, art supplies, science kits and so much more.

here's what to do: go toa request to support and we'll make sure they get exactly what they need. learn more at donorschoose.org. "donorschoose! support a classroom, build a future!" for nearly a year now, covid-19 travel restrictions led millions of americans to cancel vaccination plans, despite the pandemic, some are heading for the sand and surf of cancun, mexico. >> reporter: renee and richfrcie honeymoon at secrelas da resort in cancun last year. they made their choice partly because of the safety precautions rolled out during the pandemic. >> i feel safer coming here than some places probably in the u.s. unfortunately, sad to say. >> reporter: the cdc has a level-four warning to avoid

travel tofcoovid-19. pular all-inclusive resorts like secrets are increasing safety measures. secrets is part of am resorts which has locations in eight countries. the company implemented the clean complete verification program in all of its hotels. >> to build traveler confidence and let them know that we take this very, very seriously. >> reporter: among the changes, items in rooms are sanitized and enclosed in vacuum sealed bags before a new customer checks in. there are sanitation stations and temperature checks around the property. and staff members are always masked. at nearby la blanc resort, part of palace resorts, the brand's 250-point safety plan includes electrostatic spraying, reminders about social distancing, and no more buffets. staff members are screened and walk through a disinfecting fogger before their shifts. rapid antigen testing is also available for guests at palace

resorts and a complementary 14-day quarantine if they test positive. >> you just schedule the appointment e prior to departure. take the test. five minutes, and you're ready to enjoy the pool again. >> reporter: the company also shut down its swim-up pool bars at all of its hotels to try to minimize in-person contact. am resorts opted to keep its pool bars open. >> the decision is because we want to make sure that we have safety in mind, but we don't want to take away from the experience that our customers have become accustomed to. >> reporter: we got special rates to see the safety plans in action. guests get a dollop of sanitizing gel along with their drinks. a.m. resorts also offers free rapid tests and quarantine if positive. anyone flying back te u.s. must have a negative covid tes . wendy gillette, cbs news, cancun, mexico. and that's the "overnight news" for this thursday. for some of continues, for others, check

back later for "cbs this morning," and follow us online anytime at cbsnews.com. reporting from the nation's capital, i'm ben tracy. it's thursday, february 18th, 2021. this is the "cbs morning news." cold weather crisis. people in texas face another brutally cold day with no power while a quarter of the state's residents are being told to boil or stop using their water. fake n95 masks. more than 11 million confiscated in recent weeks in the u.s. where they're coming from. ready to land. nasa prepares for space history as the mars rover "perseverance" as the mars rover "perseverance" approach the red planet. captioning funded by cbs

good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. we're going to begin with that brutal winter