what a pleasure. what a great thing for us to be together in person to celebrate the start of construction of affordable housing in san francisco. there is much -- there is much to learn. much to celebrate. much to understand about the meaning behind the housing here and to begin that, please join me in welcoming our reader, our mayor, london breed.

thank you. >> i just got comfortable in my seat, don. hi everybody and welcome. first, let me say happy women's equality day today. that's why i'm wearing pink to recognize the contributions of women and the need to make sure that we are at the table. we are apart of this amazing economy and we're seeing more women and industries and places that we deserve to be. i'm mayor, we see all these women who are actively engaged in the construction industry. it's so great to see lori here and so many wonderful amazing women. happy women's equality day in san francisco. speaking of women, women are usually the head of house holds, the ones taking care of

the families, taking care of the husbands, the wives, the children, and everything in between the moms and the dads and it's so fitting we're here today. 203 units that will serve families in san francisco. and, one of the things that was so important to me even before i was mayor is making sure that we are creating communities that are for people who are apart of these amazing communities. it has a lot to do with my experience of growing up in the western edition where when i lived in public housing, there were 300 units, there were promises made, there was tear down and rebuild and only a replacement of those 300 units. so we knew a lot of people from that community. a lot of the people that i grew up with weren't returning home. that really changed the western edition community and it didn't

just happen at plaza east. it happened in other places across the city. when i became a member of the san francisco redevelopment agency commission, one of the things that was most important to me when we were talking about hope sf and we were transitioning from the federal hope program to one of local public and private partnerships, it was important that as we go in and we talk about rebuilding communities that we make sure that we allow those communities to participate in the process and really help drive the process, but most importantly, when that housing is done, the people from that community deserve right of first refusal and what is most inspirational about these 302 units that will be home to 203 families.

40% neighborhood for this project, for the people in district six. for the people within one square mile of this project and, rudy, i want to get all your employees. all your kids who are now grown. i want all of them to apply for this housing. i want to see more applications for united players than anyone else in the city because i want to make sure that the community you helped to build, repair, stabilize, that they have a safe, affordable place to call home because that's what they should be about when we talk about equity. when we talk about community. we have to make sure that the reason why we're doing this translates to the people who need it the most because we know that having an affordable place to call home matters. 203 units over a thousand labor

jobs of people that are working, that are putting their heart and soul into making this project happen. every nail that's hammered, every pipe that's brought in. how these places are brought together. it comes from a place of love, it comes from a place of knowing there will be families and people here to enjoy it. so i'm always happy to be in not just district six, but anywhere where we are breaking ground on housing, but it's particular affordable housing because i know what it means and, don, you and the family at t.n.d.c. who do incredible work for our city, you understand the value because you don't just help to build and create the housing. you help to work with the community. you help to serve the community with services that ensure that they are able to stay housed. that they are stable because that's what building and maintaining a community is all about. so i want to thank each and

every one of you for being here today to break ground on this incredible project and i am hopeful that it's finished on time and under budget so i can come back and hand over the first key with a gift basket to the first family that's moving in because we're going to see a lot of smiles. yes, we see smiles today, but there's nothing like seeing those kids walk into their own bedrooms and seeing just their bed made up with smurf bedding. we like the little mermaid and smurfs and that kind of stuff back in the day. i don't know what these kids see today, but it's going to put a smile on their faces and everybody that's here working on this project, you are contributing to those smiles and i want to thank each and every one of you for being here today and i'll turn it back over to don folk. i was thinking about ken folk.

maybe we can get here him to come in and design every room. >> thank you mayor breed. especially for reminding us that this is about much more than structures and buildings. it's about people and community and families. please join me in welcoming tbc senior director of housing development. >> good morning everyone. thank you so much for being here. thank you, don, and thank you mayor breed. thank you also to the san francisco voters who supported the 2019 affordable housing bond which is paying for this project. i want to thank mocd, eric shaw and his whole team is here for their partnership over the years. as they explore options for what we might do here. i want to thank the central

soma plan advocates to serve a broad spectrum of income levels here. we look forward to partnering to connect residents with this housing. i also want to thank our acquisition and bridge lenders. from the local industry to support corporation, we have cindy woo. we also benefited from the state's housing program and finally from our local housing accelerate fund. i also want to thank at some point, this was considered an inclusionary housing development. and, finally, i want to introduce and thank charmine curtis or curtis development.

she's our partner who's been with us from the beginning. she pulled out all the stops last year. she and i were working hard, hustling to secure the state funding that brought us to this point in time. thanks to her efforts, we can finally see that this building will be built and in two years, we will welcome residents to their new homes. i'd like to introduce charmine curtis. >> good morning everybody. it's so great to see everybody here and thank you so much for those kind words. we have worked so long and worked so hard to get to this moment. and i'm here to tell you how sweet it is. it took us a minute but we ade it. and it's important to acknowledge all the love and

sweat that brought us to this moment. a testament to perseverance and down right doggedness. largely on the part of kb and myself who would never say die. but, also, we owe a huge debt to the maul army of people who performed above and beyond the call of duty to meet some deadlines over the last year and a half. we closed the financing and got this project under construction in lightning speed in record time for san francisco and we are so proud of that and the team that. >> affordable housing development will always be a big part of my life's work. for one thing, i believe in the transformative power and affordable roof over your head and without it, you cannot be a

stable person living in one of the most expensive cities in the world. we have got to change our housing delivery system to make it so so that no one is left behind and unhoused in a world where there is so much in the city. i had to do my little soap box bit and i'm done with that part. we are here to celebrate this achievement and i want to extend a heart felt thanks to that small army of people i mentioned who helped to get us here. many of them are here. some are not. there are way too many individual names of folks to go through and i'm afraid i'll leave somebody out. i'm going to keep it high level and thank the organizations. and the one that i was thinking about on the way over here is the san francisco planning

department. the women who do all the affordable housing processing are amazing and they worked above and beyond to submit financial applications last year. truly remarkable and without them, we wouldn't have made it. so thank you to those women who helped so much in the beginning. i mean, you all see the site. it's pretty organized and i really think it's one of the best general contractors in the country and just really know the business. our construction manager is wade point consulting the team from b of a is lending over

$100 million and investing over $70 million in tax credit equity in this project and they're a big bank. that's still a huge investment even for them and their team has been really great, super flexible and even fun to work with through a really stressful process. >> the mayor's office has been a great partner in every way. and we miss them. but we're looking forward to working with the new project manager and construction manager from m.o.c.d.. thank you to california financing agency. they are a permanent lender and they were like the final piece to putting the financing together to make this happen, so we're grateful to them.

the attorneys don't ever get enough credit because you would not believe but the city attorney's office is great. representing bank of america. they were great. housing developers, representing the partnership and they are amazing and are the bond council on behalf. and last but not least, the officers who are unsung. i want to thank over public title for everyone in their living rooms and bedrooms. it's pretty amazing. this work requires so much dedication. there are a lot of people doing this especially in the nonprofit world to go out and get jobs. but people do it because

they're down with the cause. they want to get people housed and are just amazing, remarkable partners and i really want to just honor them for the work they do every day for all the work they give. thanks a lot. >> charmine curtis is an amazing developer and an amazing person. thanks, charmine. please, join me is welcoming lori dungone from swinderton. >> good morning. my name is lori dunngyen i am the vice president manager for swinerton builders here in the bay area. i will tell you that today is a

special day because i don't have my steel toe boots on today which is very unusual, but trust me, they are in the trunk of my car because i believe in being ready at all times. on this amazing project, swinerton is grateful and thankful to be partnering with curtis development and t.n.t. architects. we are really excited to bringing these affordable projects to san francisco. we recognize housing is a significant issue and i'm really proud of the fact that over the past ten years, swinerton has delivered over 5,000 units which is just amazing. we really consider ourselves a community builder. we were founded in 1888 here in the city of san francisco and we truly believe it's part of our core values, that when we go to build in a neighborhood, we want to leave that neighborhood better than we found it.

that is super important to us. one other amazing thing about this project is that we're really looking forward to working with our small and local businesses. so i saw earlier jeron. michael spencer. we're going to be working with spencer masonry and then tanna harris. we know this is a significant contract and we're going to do everything we can to support this process. so thank you to our small and local businesses. in closing, on behalf of swinerton builders, you have our commitment that we're going to be a good community partner on this project and we look forward to delivering this much needed affordable housing project to the city of san francisco. thank you.

>> thank you so much, lori. we will conclude now and i just want to offer a few reflections. t.n.d.c. and citizen's housing came together in i think it was 2008 to undertake a joint venture. we outbid two market rate developers to get control of the site, the city, the mayor's office of housing and community development at the time had virtually no money, but they had the vision and the understanding to realize how important -- i'm so sorry. rudy! thank you for forgiving me. rudy, you're on. >> i'm a forgiving guy. thank you, don folk. first off, i want to say thank

you, mayor london breed, for your leadership during these amazing times how you step with a lot of courage and as a san franciscan, the step forward during this pandemic and to make things happen, respect and solute to you. you know, i'm born and raised in san francisco, but i'm not only born and raised in san francisco, i'm born on this block. four blocks up. my family came from the philippines in the '60s. this neighborhood right here has a 100 year history of filipinos and this is actually famed after the cultural philippine zone. i'm one of them. i run my organization united players and another organization that's been running for over 50 years west

bay and it's neighborhood serving our current filipino families and immigrants. project right here is a win-win here in san francisco. but, if you look at now. and it wasn't built overnight. if you look now for our people to be stable, for our people to not be moved to be placed in a place where not only in san francisco, but where we were born and raised. to me. that's how you stabilize and leave san francisco. we want the phillip piano residents where we live and we die. and so my motto is it takes the hood to save the hood. what does that mean? you ain't got to be from the hood to save the hood.

it just meanses, you've got to have love in your heart from the people to take care of the people. so all the building, all the relationship buildings that we did with t.n.d.c., what my man mick who works, all our partners here from curtis development charmine, thank you. the construction workers, the people who built this, don't forget about them, the labor that they put to make this happen. thank you, guys. it takes a joint effort for all of us to do this together. that's all it means. all it means is us coming together working together. we may not see eye to eye all the time, but what we do is for the betterment of our people of san francisco. so thank you to everybody who made this project happen. over 200 affordable housing. come on, man. you know it's needed here in san francisco. and so thank you. i'm a frisco cat just like

you're a frisco cat, mayor london breed. me and you go back like a hot bowl of grits. that's my sister right there. so lastly, i just want to say this, there's a lot of shovels here. there's a shovel at the end that's symbolic. that shovel was made from gun buy backs that we've been doing, mayor. right, mayor london breed, getting thousands of guns off the streets. that was made out of guns. that planted a tree for martin luther king in atlanta. we built that mohogany tree by city hall. we used that to break ground for that building right here. and the bible says swords will be turned into plow shares. i'm honored that you allow us to use that shovel to help break ground for over 200 affordable 100% housing in our

community. thank you once again for having me. thank you for letting me speak. it wouldn't be right if you didn't have nobody from this neighborhood up here on the podium speaking. thank you, mayor london breed for your leadership. continue to do what you do because you know we've got your back like a backpack. thank you. >> thank you, rudy. you are an inspiration really and truly. and, i just want to make that comment rudy referenced mick. mick, can you raise your hand? there. mick was a t.b.c. resident at the yosemite apartments. we're all proud of that. now, thank you for forgiving me, rudy.

i'll conclude by noting that it was in 2008 that citizens got control of the site. the city did not have virtually any money and so they had the foresight to lend us just enough to acquire the property and there was no more money in sight. and so for years and years, we struggled to try to find ways to come up with non-city money to complete the financing. and during that period of time, the site had originally been zoned for only 80' and because of our work with the city department, we were able to rezone it and sub divide it. so this is now actually two sites. what's behind us will be 18 stories and where you all are sitting now is zoned for 30 stories and another 230 units that some day we hope to be able to finance as affordable housing. and so, if there is something to learn from this, it is the

power of a whole community working together and of perseverance. thank you all for being here. we'll see you at the ground breaking. >> five, four, three, two, one! yes! [applause] [♪♪]

>> shop and dine in the 49 promotes local businesses, and challenges residents to do their shopping within the 49 square miles of san francisco. by supporting local services in our neighborhood, we help san francisco remain unique, successful, and vibrant. so where will you shop and dine in the 49? >> i am the owner of this restaurant. we have been here in north beach over 100 years. [speaking foreign language] [♪♪♪] [speaking foreign language]

[♪♪♪] [speaking foreign language]

[speaking foreign language] [♪♪♪] [♪♪♪]

>> we hope we can learn more about the current state of covid-19 variant cases and others. let's get through the housekeeping and get started. recording. today's event is being recorded and being live streamed on facebook on facebook, sfgovtv, comcast 26, and cable 26. we respect all in this meeting, and want to create a safe space

for all. all video will be disabled. video will be on for speaker only. the asl interpreter will be on for the duration of this event. to view the asl interpreter during the slide presentation, please click on view button at the upper right hand portion of your screen and click on slide view. you can also switch from one slide to the other. once the slide comes on, switch to speaker view media. we are prioritizing questions from members of the public during q&a. media are welcome to follow up with additional questions they

have -- thank you very much for joining us. now i would like to hand it over to d.p.h. director of public affairs katy tang. >> thank you very muc and thank you for attending this webinar. as covid-19 is circulating out there, we know there's questions from many of you. so with that said, i'm going to invite dr. colfax to begin his presentation for all of you, but we will reserve a bulk of the time for q&a. so with that, dr. colfax. >> i thank you, katy, and good afternoon, everybody. it's really good to be here and prioritize where we are with regard to covid-19 in our city. thank you, everybody, for joining. looking forward to questions

and some discussion. we have some slides that i'll be presenting to let you know where things stand, and i know that this pandemic is creating greater challenges within our community. next slide, please. so as of today, we have over 41,000 cases of covid-19 diagnosed in our city, and we have 565 deaths. we are now in a fourth surge, and you can see that we now have an average of about 235 cases a day, and unfortunately, we are seeing another surge in hospitalizations as of august 1 with 97 people in the hospital. san francisco has done a great job of vaccinating people, and again, thank you for your

collective efforts in supporting vaccination. it is our ticket out of the pandemic. 70% of everyone in san francisco has been vaccinated, and that includes, in that calculation, people who are under 12 who, as you know, are not eligible for vaccine yet. total number of vaccines yet, you can see 667,000. 84% of people 12 and older, people who have received at least one dose, and 78% of people 12 and over have completed their vaccine period. so this is remarkable. this is one of the highest, if not the highest jurisdiction of any urban jurisdiction in the united states, and because of this work, and because of what people have done in terms of getting vaccinated, while this

fourth surge will present challenges, we are in a much better place, and we will have many fewer deaths as a result of this vaccine coverage. next slide. so on the next slide is the seven-day rolling average of cases, which is 235. in our winter surge, we peaked at 378. you can see the curve is step and almost vertical. this is because the delta variant is raging through our city, especially among those who remain unvaccinated. we are seeing increases across the world. you see here from the new york times the increase in cases across the globe, and as i

already mentioned, going back to the local situation, we have nearly 100 people in the hospital and are tracking those hospitalizations very closely. next slide. in terms of our case rate, so this is our case rates. this rapid increase, really attributable to the delta virus -- delta variant, excuse me, and the fact that we have reopened much of the city, so therefore, there's more activity. so the combination of these factors are what's driving this increase. next slide. so if there's any change in the

current rate of vaccine uptake, and there's no change in san francisco's current contact rate, which is how much we're interacting with the public and each other, then we project the following, and these are just projections. the current surge would end with 257 additional covid deaths in san francisco. and with that last bullet, just to emphasize, the vast majority would be among people who are not fully vaccinated, and with vaccines, 90 to 95% of these deaths are preventible.

next slide. as we've seen throughout the pandemic, covid-19 is having a disproportionate impact on different neighborhoods in the city. in this case, higher rates in the southeastern part of the city. the more the blue shade on this map, the higher the concentration in the city. so you see mission, tenderloin in particular have high rates. so this is, again, something that we've seen throughout the pandemic, which is why during the pandemic, working with community partners, we at d.p.h. have focused our efforts at testing, vaccine efforts, prevention services in neighborhoods most affected. next slide. so there's been a lot of talk

about the delta variants, variants in general during the pandemic. i've used the term several times already during this presentation, so just to be explicit, what is a variant? so viruses constantly change, and this is a normal process of the virus. a variant is a virus that contains changes different from the parent. some viruses have an advantage over the parent and persist or become more common, so this is basic virology, where a virus

adapts. through active genomic surveillance, scientists can identify variants that are concerning, requiring further study, and precautions. public health becomes concerned about a variant when it affects covid-19 transmission, severity, treatment, or effectiveness. we're now focusing on the delta variant, which we believe accounts for 95% of cases in san francisco, is far more transmissible than the original variant, and the clinical research scientists are determining other factors. so the main way to fight the

virus is to reduce transmission, so the virus cannot mutate if it's not reproducing, so this is another reason that vaccination is so key. the faster locally, nationally, and globally we get more people vaccinated, the less likely the virus will be able to infect more hosts, and the more likely it will be that we will be able to slow the spread of the virus. and again, as i've already said, the vast majority of hospitalizations and deaths due to covid-19 are among the unvaccinated here and across the country. so vaccines are highly

effective. they are incredibly effective, but breakthrough cases are possible. but the vaccines are working. they are effective in preventing transmission of covid-19 to totally vaccinated people, and even better, they are effective at reducing hospitalization and death due to covid-19. and, really, you know, i've

said this before, it could be the difference -- if you get covid-19 and you're not vaccinated, if you're fully vaccinated versus not vaccinated -- so if you're fully vaccinated versus not vaccinated, it could be the difference between getting a case of the sniffles versus suffocation and having to go into the hospital with covid-19. i say it's the difference between spending a few days in your bed at home and weeks in the i.c.u. at a hospital. this is not to be taken lightly. these vaccines are life saving and can keep you out of the hospital, and, of course, prevent death.

here, an over eight-fold difference, eight times more likely to be hospitalized if you are not fully vaccinated for covid-19. look at this difference between these two bars. incredible difference showing the effectiveness of these vaccines at the local level. next slide. so i also wanted to touch base on the indoor masking order

that our san francisco public [inaudible] issued on august 3, requiring masks indoors regardless of vaccination status. this is an effort that aligns with c.d.c. guidance to reduce transmission of covid-19 and everyone due to the widespread covid-19 delta variant. so, you know, this delta variant is really covid is steroids, which is why vaccinations are so important, but also protecting ourselves and each other, reducing the rate of transmission by requiring us all to wear a mask in public places will protect everyone, particularly the

unvaccinated or those who have not received a vaccine and can help them get protected by availing themselves to a shot. there's lots of resources here. we are really focusing the health department on the most vulnerable communities to covid-19, reaching out to ensure that people have the right information, the correct information and particularly about the vaccines. know there's a lot of myths out there and misperceptions. we are out there making vaccine available as much as possible. in addition there's information where people can get tested, and for people who want to delve deep into the data, you can see the links to our data and reports. and finally, just to emphasize for further information about covid, the state web side and the c.d.c. -- website and the c.d.c. websites are here to

view at your leisure. and i believe that's the end of presentation, and we'll have some question-and-answer now. katy, i'll turn it back to you. >> thank you, dr. colfax, and if you do have questions, please continue to send them through the chat. we also wanted to welcome two of our incredible community liaisons who have been deployed as what we call disaster service workers throughout the response. these are individuals who have worked in different city departments, and we have called on them to assist with all that's required during this pandemic and want to thank and acknowledge everyone who has been part of that. so today, we have [inaudible] bryant, who normally works at sfmta. has been doing a lot of outreach in the community, and jessica medina, who is also assigned at department of

emergency management and has been doing a lot of work. i'll start with [inaudible]. they have been hearing many questions in the community as they've been doing outreach, so we asked them to relay some of those questions with us today, so we'll start with alfini. >> hello. good afternoon, everyone. the first question that's come in from the community is why is the delta variant so deadly, and why is it so contagious compared to the original strain? >> so can you hear me now? so thank you for the question, and it's a really important one to answer as quickly as possible. we know that the variant is much more contagious than the virus we were dealing with before. as we said, it's covid on

steroids, and basically, the virus has mutated so it allows the virus to bind better to our cells in our body. so basically, it has created a way to bind even more tightly to our cells and do it more quickly to infect us. so that's the key reason why delta is so concerning right now. the -- in terms of its causing more severe disease, there's increasing evidence that it's not only more infectious, but if you get it, you are more likely to have severe illness. that is not concluesive yet, but in talking to our ucsf clinicians and doctors there, there are emerging -- there is emerging evidence that that is the case, and unfortunately, that trend is what we're seeing

locally. so it's a series of mutations that allows the virus to enter our bodies more quickly and easily than the prior virus, and then a series of mutations that are causing the virus to create more -- potentially more serious disease. >> okay. thank you for that. jessica? >> thank you, dr. colfax. another question i have is regarding testing. we're starting to see a lot more people getting tested for covid-19. is the city going to ramp up testing again, especially that the mass testing sites have been closed? >> yes. so we ramped up testing dramatically in both at our

al -- alemany sites and [inaudible] and at this point, that increase in demand has not decreased in supply. we are working with our partners and across our health care system partners, kaiser, ucsf, sutter, and so forth, to expand testing. people who have health care providers are experiencing some delays both in getting some appointments and some delays in getting test results back, so we're working to mitigate that as much as possible. we're also working to access home test kits, which we haven't had in prior times, to

help people get rapidly tested. but we acknowledge that testing demand is increasing and, again, are working hard to expand testing options, testing hours for people so that people can get tested when they need to. >> okay. great. next, we'll go back to fini. >> okay. thanks for that. why do some people who are vaccinated experience symptoms and are being hospitalized despite the small numbers? >> yeah, so i think it's important to look at the broader numbers in san francisco. there are going to be some breakthrough infections, and especially with delta, there are going to be some breakthrough infections. when we talk about breakthrough infections, there are people who, where virus is detected, they don't have any symptoms, but their test would be positive. and then, there are some who have mild to moderate symptoms.

but we've all heard of people who got -- did what they were asked to do, stepped up, got full vaccine doses, and they got pretty sick due to covid-19. and, you know, this is the fact that if they hadn't gotten the vaccine, it's highly likely that they'd be more sick, right? possibly in the i.c.u. and possibly to the extent that they could have died, so i think we just need to look at the numbers and look at the -- the rate of infection and severe infections, and as we keep emphasizing, if people are fully vaccinated, the likelihood of their getting severe illness, the likelihood of getting hospitalized is reduced dramatically, reduced dramatically. i know people who have gotten pretty sick who have gotten fully vaccinated, but we just

need to look at the facts, and right now, the facts are because so many people in san francisco are fully vaccinated, many, many fewer people are also going to get sick. and the fact is, with delta here, it's important, if you're not fully vaccinated, to get fully vaccinated. and if you get covid-19, it is incredibly likely that it will keep you out of the hospital. >> thank you. next question? >> my next question is what is the general guidance with regard to testing currently? what about isolation and quarantine resources if people test positive? >> yeah, so, you know, in terms of getting tested, if you're -- for the -- there are a lot of different circumstances, so i won't go into those details, except to say certainly, if you have symptoms that are consistent with covid-19, you

should get tested whether or not you have been fully vaccinated, so really important, and if you are symptomatic, it's important to wear a mask indoors, even if private settings, until you get that tests. in terms of quarantine, people should quarantine until they get the result of that test as much as possible and isolate for -- for the vast majority of people, isolate if they've had a positive test for at least ten days until they don't have any symptoms. we can continue to provide isolation and quarantine support for people. in some cases, this would mean

support -- it's a place where the person is living, providing support for families, resources, or providing a spot where they could go isolate or quarantine as necessary. and at the same time, we do not have the level of isolation and quarantine hotels that we had for these last three surges, so we're continuing to work with community members and others to ensure that we're prioritizing the isolation and quarantine resources that we do have for the people who are most vulnerable, for the people who don't have another way of managing isolation and quarantine, and again, focusing on providing support for people in other ways so that they can isolate and quarantine as much as possible. >> all right. next question, fini? >> how [inaudible] is the covid-19 vaccine in the long haul? people are scared of the

variant, but some people are more scared of the vaccine and the long-term effects, as well? >> yeah, i've heard that concern, and i talk to people about it. so the covid vaccines were developed and approved quickly, which is actually a great thing because they're our way out of this pandemic. but i also think that while the vaccines were developed quickly, it's important to remember scientists have been studying these covid viruses for over 50 years, half a century. so the science that really drove how it developed has been in existence for many, many years, and this was done quickly because there was an unprecedented support in investment in this scientific research. so right now in the world, the

vaccine has been distributed to millions and millions of people, and they are safe and highly effective. you know, we obviously don't know, ten years out from now, what the effects will be, but all of the indications are that these vaccines are safe, and the long-term risks of covid-19 far outweigh the theoretical risk of any side effects of these vaccines, so just to emphasize that. now, there's also this concern about if i -- when i get a shot, especially if i get a second shot, i get symptoms, i feel fatigued, i feel sore. with the second shot, my arm really hurt for the day. the second day, i had symptoms.

you feel achy or like you have a bad case of a cold. it's not a pleasant situation, but believe me, the symptoms of covid-19 are far worse than from these vaccines. so they're just -- there are also a lot of i think myths out there that are on social immediatea and so forth, you know, the vaccines affecting your re -- media and so forth, you know, the vaccines affecting your reproductive system and so forth. that is not the case. all the experts who specialize in reproductive health are recommending that people get these vaccines. in fact, there was just a study out yesterday that shows for -- unfortunately, for pregnant women who didn't get the vaccine, they were more likely to have their babies early, and

the babies were what we call preterm babies, so that was a very negative effect of covid-19. the benefits of these vaccines far outweigh the bad sides, but we all know someone who got the shot and got sicker than they thought, or my brother got the shot and had an asthma attack a week or two weeks later, and it was, like, did that cause my asthma? no. >> thank you for that. and the last question from jessica? >> the last question is [inaudible] should they then

test again. >> so, again, this is this is a situation where they're fully vaccinated and tested positive, basically, you need to isolate for the ten days until -- until you don't have symptoms, assuming you don't have any symptoms after ten days, and there's no further recommendation to get retested again, and if you do get symptoms similar to covid-19 after that again, the best thing to do is to talk directly to your health care provider. but in general, there's no reason to get tested after the ten days after -- from the day of your positive test. so the most important thing is if you do test positive, to isolate, to wear the mask, and

for goodness sake, if you have friends and family that haven't been vaccinated yet, get them vaccinated -- support them getting vaccinated, i should say. >> all right. thank you so much to jessica and fini for all of your work in the community, as you've heard many similar questions that they all have that they've been fielding in the community, so thank you, fini and jessica. so now, i'm going to get to some of the questions that you've put in the chat. i don't think i'm going to be able to get to one of them, but i'm going to try to combine similar subjects. one thing that has been asked is will the city shutdown again, and will the city take any further efforts to reduce transmission, such as closing restaurants, bars, gyms, or any other place with high risk

settings, and do we anticipate going back to the tiered shutdown? so all of these questions have to do with a shutdown? >> so we have no plans to quote, unquote, shutdown the city again. i think we are going to mitigate the virus in ways that allow us to resume the activities that we missed so much and love while also trying to slow the spread of the virus and prevent the most serious consequences, hospitalizations and, of course, death. so vaccines are key to this. as i said multiple times here today already, they are key along with people wearing masks indoors. they are not as effective as vaccines, but they are another tool that works to slow the spread of the virus. the other thing that we're doing is mandating vaccines in

certain settings, including in health care settings, and i think as people know, the city as a whole, the city is requiring employees across departments to become vaccinated, so there is effort to make the vaccine as available as possible. we will bring the vaccine to you. in your house, if you have five or more people ready to get vaccinated, we can make that happen. and the other thing is now that we've made it as easy for people to get vaccinated, we support efforts for people not getting vaccinated.

we support requirements for vaccine. a lot of businesses are requiring to show proof of vaccine status. >> we're seeing a lot of questions in the chat about boosters and booster shots, so i'm just going to combine some of the questions here. what are the cost-benefit analysis to get a booster shot if they're ready to get vaccinated? how effective is the pfizer and

moderna vaccine against the variant, and what's the criteria if someone wants to get a supplemental shot? they've read the news about sfdph affiliated facilities accommodating those requests, and do you recommend someone getting a shot from two different companies, so if you got a moderna, getting a shot from pfizer or johnson & johnson. so many questions, similar topics. what are your thoughts about booster shots? >> i'm trying to hold all those topics. so a couple of things. starting with one of the questions that was in the middle there was, you know,

about the second shot, whether it's from pfizer or moderna. it's just really, really important to get that second shot. there is no recommendation from any major health care body in the united states, including the c.d.c. and the f.d.a., that people get boosters. i know there's a lot of questions, a lot of discussions about this. right now, we only need to focus on the support of people who haven't gotten vaccines to get the shot. that one shot is j&j or two shots of the moderna or pfizer vaccine. those are the current guidelines, and the health department has not changed its policy with regard to that. now there's a lot of data --

there's actually some data just out today of moderna. there's a lot of discussion around pfizer with booster shots, which would be additional shots based on evidence that people may need them. there are some countries that are exploring or planning to start booster shots in certain populations. that is not happening in the united states right now. we don't know yet. it's entirely possible that booster shots would be recommended, but again, in the united states, that's not the case. now there has been some publicity about a comment that the health department made, which is giving -- if people who receive the johnson & johnson vaccine, which is a good vaccine, request an additional shot with a pfizer or moderna vaccine, that we

will accommodate that, but it hasn't been a change in our policy. but if people have talked to their health care provider and say, you know, i'd really like to have an mrna shot in addition to the johnson & johnson shot that i got, we will accommodate that, but we are accommodating that because we heard from communities that people were concerned that they were requesting it. we wanted to be responsive, and we wanted to accommodate what people were asking for in the -- in that regard. but it's not a change in policy, we're not recommending it, and we're not promoting it as a way for people to become more protected. >> okay. i know that's super helpful, just given all the questions rolling around that and the news coverage. question, especially with delta and other variants.

you recommend upgraded respiratory protection. for example, n-95 masks for unvaccinated individuals in indoor settings, so again, this is unvaccinated individuals in indoor settings. >> yeah, what i recommended for all individuals in indoor setting is to get vaccinated. we know the masks work, but they don't work as well as the vaccines. in an indoor setting, i mean, the more we know about them, really, it's both about getting that vaccine with delta here and, you know, if many people can't tolerate wearing an n-95 mask inside, so it's better to wear a surgical mask than certainly no mask at all. but i just -- i know that with the masking, the indoor masking

mandate coming back in, that that -- that we focus our attention on masks, but i also don't want to lose sight of the fact that the vaccines are so much -- so important, so protective, and easy to get right now, so both the mask and vaccine are key to us getting out of this fourth surge. >> okay. great. we have some questions about the new variant, the lambda variant. what do you know about the lambda variant in san francisco, and there's some questions that the lambda and epsilon variants might be

vaccine resistant? >> yeah, we're working with scientists and researchers as much as we can to be responsive to further variants emerging. and i think one of the key issues that we've had across the country, in the region, and, as well, is in -- in san francisco is scaling up our ability to genotype the virus. and thankfully, at ucsf, we have a lab that's leading the state in terms of genotyping. it's plausible that we'll see other variants emerge because we don't have high vaccine rates across the country, and we'll have to wait and see if

these variants cause more illness or if they spread or are more crippling than delta. but i go back to -- i sound like a broken record -- the way to keep these variants from spreading is to get vaccinated so the variants slow down. the less people the virus is able to infect, the more the virus slows down, and the less people we infect. the way to support all of this is to support all people getting vaccinated. >> all right. and we've gotten questions about have we seen any differences in outcomes, for example, hospitalizations, for

people who have received different brands of vaccine? >> yeah. locally, i'm not aware of any differences in regard to that. >> okay. and i know we've had a series of town halls focused on youth and children in schools, but we do have a couple questions here in terms of the delta variant specifically and its impact and everything on specifically three to five year olds. is it specifically safe to allow three to five-year-old children to not wear a mask in child care outdoors? what about the delta variant in pediatric outcomes? any sort of thought on the risk

of kids under 12, so questions on covid and how the delta variant is affecting children? >> so this has come up in questions from our clinical experts, and i think it's really important to emphasize right now that the public health officers, pediatricians, feel that it's incredibly important that we return our kids to in-person learning, and that this is thought that we can do it safely, we can do it safely, and it's so important for the health and wellness of our kids, our families, and our community. the best way that we can ensure that is for family members who are eligible for vaccines to get vaccinated. that can protect the children, and that can protect the school. and we have local data that supports that, so in the last

18 months, of the children who are found to test positive for covid-19 in the schools, all those cases were tracked back to the family, so i just think it's important for us to all do our part to support that. i was just talking to a number of infectious disease experts at ucsf. you may have read the report from louisiana about children's hospitals being filled with children with respiratory illness. that's obviously a concern, and there's much more covid there, much more than we have locally. there's a much lower vaccination rate, somewhere in the range of 35%, compared to

our 75% overall, and there's no confirmation that delta causes more disease among children. right now, the consensus is that children are expect -- you know, even if children get covid-19, that they will experience milder symptoms compared to adults. but again, as we've seen during these last 18 months, this is an evolving field and we're watching it very carefully. but we want to support schools opening for in-person learning as much as possible. >> okay. thank you. we got a couple of questions about rapid testing and testing as soon as possible, so i don't know if you want to share anything about rapid tests? >> well, i think if people want to avail themselves of rapid testing, that's something we didn't have before, so i

encourage them to use it. but i'd say to very carefully follow the instructions, and if you have questions, that you consult your health care provider, so just two important caveats to the use of home test kits, and again, they should not be a substitute for getting vaccinated. getting tested itself doesn't get you vaccinated. you can test as much as you possibly can, and it's not protecting you from the virus, right? so, you know, if you're tested, get the vaccine. >> maybe just a follow-up question on that. if you can describe for the public quickly the difference between the rapid test and what we have traditionally had out there, where test results are sent to labs? >> yeah. well, i mean, i think there are a lot of different rapid tests out there, but basically, the rapid test allows you to get the results, you know, in as

short a time as 15 minutes, and those are being used in many settings across the city and at d.p.h. we're using them at our shelters right now and certainly at our testing sites so you get that result very quickly. if you -- the traditional -- the traditional test that we used earlier, our tests that take a longer time to conduct, and they can take a turnaround from anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. >> we had a lot of questions about the city shutting down again, but also specific events. we were planning for events to be held outdoors but with a lot of people. should we still hold them? should we cancel them?

is there going to be a recommendation that people reduce participating in social gatherings indoors or suspend large gatherings? any advice you have on small outdoor private gatherings, so in general, i think the questions are along the lines i think we've talked about safety in covid areas on the spectrum, if you could share that. >> yeah, it is on a spectrum. we know that being outdoors helps prevent the transmission of the virus, so that's key, as well, and the more people that you're engaging with, particularly inside, the greater the risk of transmission, especially if there are adults there who have not been fully vaccinated.

the other piece is we know that people who are older, particularly 65 and older, people who have comorbid conditions are more likely to suffer from negative consequences from this virus, so i think we just all need to think through that and do our own risk assessment to make a determination about what we're comfortable doing. there's a big difference between an indoor gathering of 5,000 people whose vaccine status hasn't been checked versus an outdoor gathering of 25 people who are fully vaccinated or, you know, people eating inside either in a group -- in a group setting, in a restaurant -- if they're vaccinated, and the staff are fully vaccinated, there's a big difference in that risk

compared to people that are not vaccinated in that setting. so i think it's just really being attentive to your own risk, the risk of the people that you love and who are around you, and making the determination about what you're comfortable doing while supporting getting vaccines and while wearing those masks indoors. >> and so along those lines, you know, especially given the high vaccination rate of our population, do you any insight of where you're seeing outbreaks in san francisco at least? i think you mentioned earlier, but any specific places or demographics or clusters? >> well yeah, i think we're seeing clusters in the neighborhood map -- on the neighborhood map that i showed. we're also seeing larger numbers the people in the 25 to 35-year-old age group who are not vaccinated. that's our age group in san francisco that is least likely

to be vaccinated, so if any of you are 25 to 35 or no 25 to 35 year olds who aren't vaccinated yet, please support them in getting vaccinated as quickly as possible. along those lines, we are seeing, when we're asking people their activities, we're seeing more outbreaks in indoor settings, including people who are frequenting bars, so that's another place where we're seeing more people. it's basically younger people -- there's a higher risk for younger people, 25 to 35 year olds, who have not been vaccinated, who are going indoors into crowded settings where i think mask wearing is

lower than it needs to be at this time. >> all right. well, i know we received many questions, and we apologize we couldn't get to all of them, but we will try to through our messages out to the public and other venues, as well, try to get as many questions addressed in those ways. our website, of information, as well. i will leave it with one last question. many people are wondering how we can live with this virus in the long run like with the flu, so what are your thoughts on that? >> well, it's hard to project into the future, but we have

the tools that work. there's a question, if you get the vaccine, will it work against mutations? the vaccine is key to keeping us from spreading the virus and from keeping us out of more serious variants, so i just want to emphasize that. i think in terms of where we'll be in the future, hopefully, we'll get more people vaccinated. the masking, indoor masking, will help slow the spread of this surge, and then, we'll have to see where we are in terms of the science around further vaccines and determine, you know, if and when additional shots are necessary. but i think right now, the answer -- the most important thing that we know now is that these vaccines are going to be key and that the more people we

get vaccinated now, the more we will be able to mitigate and -- and control the spread of this virus in our community and prevent people from dying. these are great medicines, and the vaccines are our way out. >> all right. thank you, dr. colfax. thank you to everyone who participated in this event today -- >> and if i could just say one more thing. you know, this has been a long 18 months, and i've said a lot about the virus. there's been a toll on our mental health, our ability to care for ourselves and our families, and in addition to getting the vaccine, please make sure that you're taking care of yourself and your families in the ways that are so important for yourself to be

resilient during what is a very challenging time. sorry to cut in, katy, but i wanted to say that, and thanks, everyone. >> oh, no, thank you to you, dr. colfax, and thank you to everyone who participated and thank you to sfgovtv, as well. if you want to view this again, it'll be available on sfgovtvs youtube channel. so thanks, everyone, and have a wonderful day. >> it was an outdoor stadium for track and field, motorcycle and auto and rugby and cricket located in golden gate park, home to professional football, lacross and soccer. adjacent to the indoor arena. built in the 1920s.

the san francisco park commission accepted a $100,000 gift from the estate to build a memorial in honor of pioneers in the area. the city and county of san francisco contributed an additional $200,000 and the stadium was built in a year. in the 1930s it was home to several colleges such as usf, santa clara and st. mary's for competition and sporting. in 1946 it became home to the san francisco 49ers where they played nearly 25 years. the stayed de yam sat 60,000 fans. many caught game the rooftops and houses. the niners played the last game against the dallas cowboys january 3, 1971 before moving to candlestick park. the stadium hosted other events before demolition in 1989. it suffered damages from the

earthquake. it was reconstructed to seat 10,000 fans with an all weather track, soccer field and scoreboards. it hosts many northern california football championship games. local high schools sacred heart and mission high school used the field for home games. the rivalry football games are sometimes played here. today it is a huge free standing element, similar to the original featuring tall pink columns at the entrance. the field is surrounded by the track and used by high school and college football and soccer. it is open for public use as well.

>> the regular meeting of the board of education of the san francisco unified school district for august 24, 2021 is now called to order. roll call, please. >> clerk: thank you. [roll call]