dr. john torres joins me now here. a lot of people are wondering is it legal for doctors to do this, to give these exemptions? >> since each state regulates its own vaccine requirements it depends on how the law is written and in california it's not illegal and with other

dr. john torres joins me now here. lot of people are wondering is it legal for doctors to do this, to give these exemptions? >> since each state regulates its own vaccine requirements it depends on how the law is written and in california it's not illegal and with other states with declining rates, california is now trying to figure out how to insure medical exemptions and used appropriately. >> bottom line, get the vaccines. >> talk to your doctor if you have concern, work through the concerns and get the ravaccines >> thank you so much. >> making it official as senator kamala harris launches her campaign for president. >>> i stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the united states. >> that is democratic senator kamala harris making it official today, launching her campaign for president at a rally in her hometown, oakland, california. not surprisingly, she attacked many of the policies of the trump administration and said she would deliver the largest middle class tax cut in a generation. it

dr. john torres explains why doctors expect kahoses and spitalizations from the flu to continue to rise. >> reporter: dr. dickman is on the front line of the flu season. >> nationwide, the flu is kicking in right now. is that the same thing you're seeing here? >> we're seeing an uptick of cases in the flu the last few we ts. >> reportehis year, the h1n1 strain,lso known as swine flu, is responsible for the majority of cases, particularly in those under 40. last month, 26-year-old conservative journalist brie yton, died from it. >> we've seen thousands of ns this year. we'll expect a whole lot more because that' what influenza does. >> reporter: with last year's flu season one of the deadliest, the cdc rommends everyone 6 months and older get the flu vaccine. >> if someoneasn't gotten the flu shot, we are recommending they get the flu vaccine. >> roorter: if you d get ,sick there's a new drug called xofluza, unlike tamiflu, it only takes one >> dr. john torres will be one of our guests at the nbc 4th he & fitness expo. we'll have all kinsd of expert there's. veat's january 12th and 13th at

dr. john torres. >> reportenew york's medical center, dr. dicman is on the front line of the flu season. it's kicking in rly nuary, is that the same thing you're seeing here? >> we've seen an uptick over the past few eks. >> reporter: according to the cdc, this year the h1n1 strain also known as swine flu is responsible for the majority of cases under 40. last month 26-year-old conservative journalist bri paton died from it. >> we've seen thousands of hospitalizations this year, and we will expect a whole lot more becse that's what influenza does. >> reporter: last year's flu season one of the deadliest, the cdc says everyone 6 months and older get the flu ccine. >> if anyone didn't get the shot, we strongly recommend they get the flu vaccine. >> reporter: if you do get sick, there is a new drug, unlike tamiflu it only takes one dose. it's not even pe flu season, that's late january or february. if you haven't got the flu vaccine, it's definitely not too late. lester? >> dr. john torres, ank you. >> you bet. >>> to the oscar's cliffhanger we

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dr. john torres joins me now here.bably wondering, is it legal for doctors to do this, to give exemptions? >> it depends on how the state's laws are written. in california it's not illegal. like other states within deg vaccination rates, though, california is now trying to figure out how to ensure medical exemptions are used appropriately. >> bottom line on all this, get the >> talk to your doctor if you have concerns, work through the concerns and get the vaccines. >> thank you so much. >>> making it official. senator uh-oh! guess what day it is?? guess what day it is! huh...anybody? julie! hey... guess what day it is?? ah come on, i know you can hear me. mike mike mike...mike what day is it mike? ha ha! leslie, guess what today is? it's hump day. whoot whoot! ronny, how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? i'd say happier than a camel on wednesday. hump day!!!! yay!! get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. with retirement planning and advice for what y

dr. john torres.we talked to him earlier today about the flu. >> the main thing with the flu this year is that people tend to get the flu and it hits them all of a sudden, that's probably the biggest difference between that and a cold. a cold comes on slowly, feels aches and pains. with the flu it comes on all of a sudden. interviewed a pediatrician yesterday who said one of the things she's seeing in children is they have watterry eyes. even if they don't have vers, they have watery eyes, she checks them for the flu and they have it. the main thing is not to confuse a slow start with the season. flu season has not peaked yet. this is a slow starting season, 's going to be the next few weeks and month, month and a elf that we have m flu. the vaccine seems to be fairly effective. no vaccine is 100%. if you get the flu and you have the vaccine, it causes it to be ae mild case, saves you from hospitalizations andle saves perom dieing. that's probably the biggest thing. >> reporr: get your flu shots, peop

dr. john torres. >>> a caps and wizards owner ted leonis, how soon he says you can spend your lunch breaks >>wntown making legal bets on sports. eople will be able to come in, watch games and dine and bet. and that is something that and that is something that hey babe, what's the password for the cable bill? and that is something that rollerbladeking22. capital "k". ok... what about the phone bill? it's the ent.e alphabet backwards z y x w v... i got it. i got it... what about electric? shrimp. uh uh. lobster? it didn't work. try all seafood. the words "all seafood" or like different seafoods? no, just like work your way. the words "all seafood" or like difwhat?t seafoods? forget all your passwords. bill pay on thtd bank p keeps all your bills in one place. just per bowl liii n three days away and this year could set a record for bets on the big game. >> aording to lines.com there kswill be 150 million bucn super bowl bets in nevada alone. sports betting l isal in more statesncluding rhode island wher

dr. john torres, thank you.e'll see a lot of you, i'm sure. >>> coming up, we'll keep our look ahead going with the music, tv shows and movies to look forward to in 2019, including a fan favorite that's finally heading to the big screen. >>> and we'll open up about our hopes and dreams for the new year to come. we're going to share resolutions. first, this is "today" on nbc. >>> just ahead on this first morning of the new year, we're going to take a moment to look back at the good times we had here on "today." >>> and brett eldridge, who conquered christmas with his holiday album. we can't wait for him to kick off the new year with a special performance in studio 1a. we'll be right back. the day after chemo shouldn't mean going back to the doctor just for a shot. with neulasta onpro patients get their day back... to be with family, or just to sleep in. strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection. in a key study neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17% to 1%, a 94% decrease. neulasta onpro is des

dr. john torres looks at the reason behind the declining fertility rate. >> reporter: at age 40, she is happyith not having children. >> i love the y spontane n doing what i want to do. i love work. i'm a workaholic. i had other aspirations in mind. babies are a lot of work and i wasn't really willing to take on half that work. >> reporter: i s a decision more women are making. a new report shows the u.s. birth rate is then lowest 30 years. later year, just 3.85 million babies were born. >> we are seeing that access to cont cont contraception is more broadly available to women, allowing themo choos delaying childbirth. >> economic uncertainty and drop in teen pregnancies. >> the important omtake-h is that women have choices to delay child bearing and optimize their health prior to achieving pregnancy or attempting epregnancy is going to the best for their outcomes. >> so, dr. john, what are experts concerned about? >> some say it puts our country in jeopardy of not having a strong enough workforce for years to come. another impact, we risk fewer people to help care for the nation's growing el

dr. john torres has more. >> reporter: claire is a happy 2-year-old and a pioneer.ne of the first babies in thes u.o have comprehensive dna testing right after birth. while core a seemed normal, doctors found she had aic gen risk for a vitamin deficiency that can cause c dnitiveects and seizures. >> she might have had struggles down the road and we just wouldn't have really known what thoses symptom were from. >> reporter: cora is part of a groundbreaking study ofewrns that analyze nearly 5,000 genes looking for the risk of dismsse. rare forf everything, from cancer to heart problems to severe skin conditions and hearing loss. researchers foundearly 10% of babies tested were at risk for a condition that could bereated early. >> you're identifying disease risks, which are actually actionable, which we can do something abou >> reporter: but dr. robert green says the sensitivity genetic information needs tbe handled with care. >> although this is a simple blood test, the analysis is very complicated. and if it's done right, i think can unlock clues to the baby's health

dr. john torres, thank you. we will be seeing a lot of you this year. >>> coming up, we will keep our look ahead going with the music, tv shows, and movies to look forward to in 2019, including a fan favorite that's finally head sg to the bigeen. >>> and we will open up about our hopes and dreams for the new year to come. we will share our resolutions. first, this is "today" on nbc. look. it's om r. i love you, but t in love with you. she says i can't see you anymore. find furniture you'll love at... e. ...havertys year end s -now held over! get free financing for 5 years. hurry in before it's over! these deals are break-up worthy. havertys. life looks good. >>> just ahead on this first morning of the new year we are going to look back at the good times we had on "today" in 2018. >> and country music king brett eldredge with his holiday album. a special performance right here in studio 1a. we will be back right after this. ♪ performance in studio 1a. we'll be right back. the day after chemo shouldn't mean going

dr. john torres will join us at 5:00 to breakn it d for us. >> we have a big afternoon ahead of us.so cold they're making ice cream on the sidewalk. as opposed to frying an egg july. >> i like this one better. >> this is better. >> thanks, you(s [music playing]himi) psst. hey, you! the one with the designer dog collar. wondering how i upgraded to this sweet pad?0- a 1,uare-foot bathroom, and my very own spa. all i had to do was give my human "the look". and a simpler online application, getting into my dream home was easier than ever. get your human to visit wellsfargo.com/woof. what would she do without me? >>> now a live look at the feels like temperatures if you're just joing us we've got one more night of this polar vortex thing. then we're talking more snow chances. a winter weather advisory issued for parts of the area because of the chances. doug and amelia are back to walk us through it in less than 90 seconds. >>> in chicago the temperature is below zero. the city still under a state ofh emergency w schools and businesses closed. >> transportation around the city and athe a

dr. john torres. > flu season has not peaked yet.ng season, it'll be the next few week month, month and a half that we keep having more plus what we know, when this flu calms down a little bit, come march time frame it's going to pick up again. we have two peaks during the flu season, the second one is yet to come. ople still need their vaccines. >> reporter: he's right. if you haven'tho gotten your yet, it's not too late. experts say the flu shot is a good match for this year's virus. even thoh the vaccine isn't 100% effective it canlessen the serve severity of symptoms and keep you out of the hospital. that is worth doing. >> you can say that again. >>> a setbac for efforts to build a solar farm. the county planning commission recommends against two of the three special use permits a utah based companyteeeds to ope the farm. stainable power group wants t build the farm on 6,000 acres of rural land. the fulloard of supervisors takes up the issues at a special meeting likely sometime next month. >>> we are in for an interesting weeke

dr. john torres about the symptoms >> the main thing with the flu this year is people tend to get the flu and it hits them all of a sudden. that's the biggest difference between that and a ld. a cold comes on slowly you feel aches and pains, a little under the weather. the flu comes on all of a sudden and people sayhey can't get out of bed. >> it's not too late to get your flu shot. we haven't hit the peak yet. experts say this year's vaccine is aood match for the virus too. >>> a vote is expected to come nexteek in the virginia state senate to raise the $7.25 minimum wage. a senate committee approved that measure earlier this week. two senior republicans stepped up to sport the bill which is sponsored by a democrat. this would gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2021. virginia'sinimum wage is tied for the lowest in the country. west virginia's is higher by $1.50 an hou o believe it not. d.c.'s minimum is $13.25 and it's t going reach $15 an hour in 2020. >>> a local day care center reopening after an abuse scandal. the parent of one victim said she's appalled. ee it like t

dr. johns torres. those numberspe j because of the guidelines that classify high blood pressure and its dangers, correct? >> yes. every year the american heart association comes out with thi report. what hasn't changed is heart disease isti the number one killer of adults in america.as it'sally cardiovascular ,sease, stroigh blood pressure, the newest one they included and they changed themb s of what's diagnosed as high blood pressure. in the past 140/90 is what we were looking at now they're saying 130/80. which means a lot more people are in that bucket. the important point hers since so many people now have this new dinose, that means more people need to look at themselves and take care of themselves. it's important to get your blood pressure check and looked at it td bring your blood pressure down. main thing people do is take blood pressure medicine. that's what ty've been doing for decades, but there are other ways to treat it't that d require medication. >> exactly. there are other ways to trea

dr. john torres. >> morning. >> nice to see you, doc. deep freeze the midwest, below zero here.ood time to remind people to protect themselves. t >> the importaing is exposure. the more skin that's exposed, the more you're outside, the more problems you'll run into. eping dressed as appropriate. keeping things covered is the imptant thing. dress in layers. you never know if it'll be warmer or colr. over all the body parts. things we're most concerned about, e,ears, n fingers, toes, cheeks, and chins. don't stay outside longer than necessary. there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear, meaning you didn't dress up enough. hypothermia is important to be careful with. thacan happen to just about anybody, especially as the temperatures drop and get b 50. frostbite, a huge concern. there are different levels. if you feel numbness or tingling, it is a sign. cover up and get worse if you're wet. >> can we ask about the measles? so many assume this was a thing of the past, but now, there have been outbreaks across the country. there was a scare forans at an nba game. >> couple

dr. john torres has more. >> reporter: the doctor athe medical center is on the frontline of the flu >> then right now. is that what you are seeing here? >> we are seein an uptick in the cases of flu in the past few weeks. >> reporter: according to the cdc, h 1 1, known as the swine t flu, i large number of cases. last month, the journalist bree payton died from it. >> we have seen hospitalizations this lar. we wil expected more. >> reporter: with last year's flu season one p of tof the dea, the cdc recommends everyone six months or older to get the vaccine. if you do get sick, there is a drug called uzxo can be taken. >> dr. torres, good morning. is it too late to get the flu shot? >> it is not too late. theks season p in january and february. we are not there yet. we think the worst weeks areah d of us. you want to get the flu shot now. it takes two weeks to kick in. get it. six mons and above. especially pregnant women. >> important. goodadvice. we checked your chart. happy birthday today. >> thank you very much. >> we checked yourchart. i have not heard that. don't go too far. you will