for some more perspective, we're joined now by dr george rutherford from u c s f dr rutherford. always good to see you appreciate the time. thank you course with the surgeon. omicron cases easing right now. do you feel like broadly speaking, this is the right time for state health officials to lift the indoor mask requirement. just broadly speaking. yes, i do. i do think it's the right time to with the you know these pieces of the end state indoor mask mandate you realized that it's not totally lifted that if your unvaccinated you have to be masked. if you're in mega events, you have to be masked. if you're in certain types of congregate, living or patient care settings, you have to be masked as well. so it's not a it's not a blanket. uh relocation of the masking mandate, sure, and of course, as we heard in tom's piece there, many bay area counties still on the fence, making these decisions about whether or not to align with the state and keep their indoor mask mandates in place. it does seem like we're likely to see a shift to new metrics in terms of what? what it will take to

george rutherford had this to say about the findings. >> reporter: some grisly new variant emerges that is susceptible to this, or not susceptible, we might have to change, but right now it looks like we have enough to get us to the fall. >> reporter: dr. rutherford says if we can keep infection rates low, the chances of coming into contact with an infected person are much lower. at the same time, local small businesses, except in santa clara county, are adjusting to the first full week without indoor mask mandates. >> some of my staff continues to wear masks. that is fine with us if they are comfortable doing that. it is the same way with customers. i would say anywhere from, you know, maybe 50 to 60% of our customers continue to mask up. and that's fine. >>> looking live at san francisco city hall, seven cisco -- placing school board members recalled in last election. the school board is taking applications after leading the charge to recall board president gabriela lopez and commissioner allison collins and malika. the group will narrow its list of approved candidates to hand over to

. >> ucsf epidemiologist george rutherford said it's the right time to let vaccinated people take their face coverings off, but we should be ready to ramp up if needed. >> we are reasonably comfortable with omicron as a less severe, more transmissable virus. but you know, the next variant we see may be something completely different. >> it will be up to the counties to make the final decision about whether the mask mandate will be lifted locally. they tell nbc bay area that they plan to follow the state's recommendations. the other counties are still on the fence. contra costa is planning to make data available later in the week. >> i think we should get rid of them. >> many are ready to say goodbye to the mask, others think the county county should play it safe. these women say they will continue to wear their mask in doors no matter what the county decides. >> i probably will wear my mask because i feel safer that way. >> i feel it's safe to keep a mask on. you know, and i agree with that. it would be a great idea, under the new safe guidelines. >>> deeply 8.8% a week ago, the positiv

george rutherford says it may be trickier because data still needs to come in. >> we need to think in terms of a three-dose series rather than two doses and a booster down the line. we'll have a look at the data and make the most prudent decision. the layers of safety are even higher. >> reporter: "the new york times" reports if pfizer waited for data on a three-dose regimen the data would be submitted late march and it might not be authorized for that age group until weeks later. ian cole, "today in the bay." >>> as of today, more covid testing will be available on the peninsula. the provider, carbon health, will administer up to 2,000 tests per day. you can register in advance or show up to get the test for free. san mateo county's positivity rate is just over the past week or so, nearly 15%. >>> san francisco's chase center allowing people to attend warriors games even if they're not vaccinated, provided they present a recent negative covid result from a third-party provider. if you're vaccinated, proof of a booster will be required. oakland will require customers to show proof of

. >> ucsf professor of epidemiology doctor george rutherford says kids 6 months of age up to 4 years old could begin receiving their covid-19 shots within weeks as soon as pfizer receives an emergency use authorization by the u.s. food and drug administration for its vaccine in that age group is nothing short of a miracle. doctor rutherford says, although it seems as if the pandemic is dragging along says data on a 3rd dose given at least 8 weeks after the second dose is expected in the coming months. >> and will be submitted to the fda to support expanding the authorization to a three-dose series. i think we need to be thinking about these vaccinations kind of going forward in general is a three-dose series said obviously the 2 dose did. >> you know, was insufficient against the omicron variant. pfizer's clinical trials showed 2 shots did not give enough immune response in young children. the company also has not released any safety concerns with 3 doses in kids under 5 years old. phillipe djegal all kron. 4 news. another big story tonight. a man and women are the latest victims of

. >> ucsf professor of epidemiology doctor george rutherford says kids 6 months of age up to 4 years old could begin receiving their covid-19 shots within weeks as soon as pfizer receives an emergency use authorization by the u.s. food and drug administration for its vaccine in that age group is nothing short of a miracle. doctor rutherford says, although it seems as if the pandemic is dragging along at a slow pace, fast track covid-19 vaccines have proven effective in providing protection against the virus and making it available to everyone. 6 months old and above, we'll improve lives. a lot of these kids are in day care and pre k stuff. >> and when the class get 6 place shuts down. and so you have, you know your pay. the parents have to take 10 days off of work, arrange for alternative childcare just because their kids been exposed. so this is going to help on that. initially, pfizer is seeking approval of the first 2 doses of a three-dose series. the company says data on a 3rd dose given at least 8 weeks after the second dose is expected in the coming months and will be submitted

and the statement from doctor george rutherford also with ucsf.reads in part smarter is just that it's a plan to take all that we've learned from the first 2 years of the covid-19 pandemic and use that knowledge to go forward. millions of californians were pleased to see california statewide mask mandate lifted that. but one place you're going to need to keep your mask on is at the airport, no matter what your vaccination status is. president biden issuing the mask mandate over the holiday season amid high case rates of covid and it's going to stay in place and tell march 18th, even though mask mandates are easing up around the country. the federal law in this case is superseding local ordinances. we spoke with some travelers at the airport to say. you know, that even if they were given the option, they still wear their mask. >> i definitely still want to wear my mask. i think. >> we are a part of a larger community and there are folks who still. >> don't get back to you can get vaccinated. i think we have a responsibility. >> if you happen to los

. >> reporter: epidemiologist george rutherford says pandemic of fatigue is real. unfortunately, it coincides with a sharp drop in virus spread. >> hopefully for now, fingers crossed, things -- well, they are definitely in the right direction. hopefully, fingers crossed, they will continue in the right direction for several months. >> reporter: along with case numbers, mandates are starting to fall, leading to a phase some have described as an era of choice. >> i think that is somewhat appropriate. i would like to look at it as an era of responsibility. >> reporter: still no detailed plan from the governor yet but the ball is in the court of county health agencies. expect their decisions in the coming days. here in livermore, wilson walker, kpix 5. >>> after a months long covid- 19 test shortage, the two biggest pharmacy chains are lifting limits on how many rapid test customers can buy. previously, cvs limited customers to six and walgreens kept people at for. now, customers can buy as many tests as they like. >>> right now in oakland, a meeting is happening about

and this is the statement from doctor george rutherford also with ucsf. it reads, in part smarter is just that it's a plan to take all that we've learned from the first 2 years of the covid-19 pandemic and use that knowledge to go forward. coming up tonight at 6.30, uc berkeley infectious disease specialist doctor john swartzberg will be joining us live to talk about governor newsom's new pandemic plan. we have a first look now at this year's floats for the lunar new year parade in san francisco. you see some of them here. total, 14 floats will be hitting the streets saturday to welcome in. >> the year of the tiger, the city's last lunar new year parade was back in 2020. the pandemic didn't just cancel last year's parade, but it also caused in increase in the number of violent attacks on asian americans and pacific islanders with the virus originating from wuhan china. it is why there will be more police on the streets for the lunar new year events this year. kron four's rob nesbitt. joining us now live without organizers are feeling going into the year o

. >> ucsf's george rutherford said it may be trickier because data still needs to come in. >> we needthink in terms of a three-dose series rather than two doses and some mythic dose down the line. let's look at the data and make the most proonl decision. the layers of safety for vaccines for younger children are even higher. >> "the new york times" reports if pfizer waited for data on a three-dose regimen, it might not be authorized for weeks later. if a two-dose series is approved, it could be ready in the end of february. ian cull, nbc bay area news. >>> moderna's vaccine has been approved by the fda. it has been given to millions of smerns sense it got emergency authorization. the fda gave full approval to pfizer's vaccine last august. >>> we are watching the wind. it is about to pick up again and it could cause problems. jeff, we've had this dangerous combination a couple weeks ago. no rain and these winds. >> very dangerous for us even though we had all that record setting rainfall at the start of our season. things are extremely dry. you can see the wind warning. it starts at 3:

ucsf epidemiology professor doctor george rutherford says. >> he also believes vaccine mandate shouldain in place. we don't have nearly enough people vaccinated. understand california. >> we may have almost 70% of the eligible population vaccinated only a little bit more than half of those have been boosted. you have to boosters in order to have vaccine effectiveness. so an honest to god, we only have about 40% of the population fully fully fully, really vaccinated. so that's why, you know, it's premature to jettison a lot of the stuff. >> and bay area, doctors say if you are immunocompromised are part of one of those other high-risk groups just because that indoor mask mandate is going away. doesn't mean it should go away for you live in san francisco. dan kerman kron, 4 news. thank you, dan. >> the state legislature gave the okay to extend the paid covid sick leave for california workers. but this time the government is not picking up the tab and that is a big concern to businesses across the state. our capitol bureau reporter ashley zavala explains. >> clerk will open the role. cal

. >> ucsf epidemiology professor doctor george rutherford says with only half of eligible californians boosted it's also too early to get rid of vaccine mandates, especially for certain groups, health care workers. >> people living in long-term care facilities and other congregate living facilities, which include, by the way, college students living in dormitories. i think the there's the state has been required for school through her priest preschool through through 12th grade educa-ion. that will happen this summer. >> and medical professionals point out that even though california is lifting this indoor mask mandate, they say if you're immunocompromised or have another high risk group that you fall into just because that indoor mask mandate is being lifted, doesn't necessarily mean it should be lifted for you. 5 in san francisco, dan kerman kron, 4 news and thank you for that. since that news broke earlier this afternoon, we've been reaching out to all bay area counties to see if and how this will affect. >> any local mask mandates, it may be in effect and we started to hear back. s

george rutherford. thank you for talking to us but i want to talk about that research we have reported on repeatedly about the waning immunity of boosters. do you feel like three doses is enough protection until fall? >> i think so. if some grisly new variant emerges that is not susceptible , we might have to change, but for right now it looked like we have enough to get us to the fall. with pretty good effect. you know, it is not perfect, but it is reasonable and if you keep the infection rates low, the chances of coming into contact with someone who has infection is that much lower. i think we will have to revisit this in the fall but for now i would say the answer is no unless you are severely immunosuppressed in which case, the answer is yes. >> relatively good news there. this was the first weekend as you know without that mask mandate in place for most bay area counties. the vast majority of them. i know there has been some disagreement, here. doctors and public health experts feel like the number

ucsf epidemiologist dr george rutherford believes students still need to mask up or vaccination rates are low pre school where children are too young to be vaccinated. absolutely. if you have a high school where 25 or 30% of the students are fully vaccinated. that's not good enough. i think from a public health perspective , kids should really have been allowed to go first with unmasking enough doctor jean noble, director of covid response for ucsf's emergency department feels differently. she and other colleagues created a petition urging the governor to lift mask mandates in schools, leaving the choice up to students and staff. they have the most to lose their masks, you know, six hours a day, five days a week, when they're still trying to, you know, learn how to enunciate their words interpret complex facial emotions. the california federation of teachers sent us this statement. we support developing a plan for transitioning away from asking in schools and off ramp that is based on science and not politics. gregory ktvu, fox two news. san jose took another step towards building mor

george rutherford thinks the state and its guidance is correct. >> i think the timing's appropriate.hink that we've seen a 70% decline since the peak of omicron wave on january 14th. >> but other doctors, including a former u.s. surgeon general, disagree, saying it's still too early to ditch the masks. all counties will announce their plans in the next few days based on their local data, no matter their decision, masks will continue to be mandatory in schools, hospitals, and public transit. >> well, the future of more than a dozen schools in oakland rests on what happens this evening. in less than an hour, students, parents, teachers will log on to a virtual school board meeting and that's when the board will approve a plan to save millions by closing and merging some schools. the plan has triggered several protests, including a hunger strike by two oakland educators. one, in fact, went to the e.r. this afternoon. doctors are worried that eight days of starvation was causing irreversible harm. the district says declining enrollment, budget cuts are creating an uncertain financial fut

ucsf, professor of epidemiology doctor george rutherford says pfizer is seeking approval of the first 2 doses of a three-dose series. the company says data on a 3rd dose given at least 8 weeks after the second dose is expected in the coming months and could be submitted to the fda. >> to support expanding the authorization to a three-dose series hits that less than 6 months are protected by their mothers. >> but their mothers immunity because they had about his cross set up. they also cross the milk. so younger kids are protected through the bomb. pfizer's clinical trials showed 2 shots were strong enough for babies, but did not give enough immune response in preschool children. >> the company also has not released any safety concerns with 3 doses in kids under 5 years old. ultimately, doctor rutherford says expanding the vaccine eligibility will keep more kids in school and parents at work. i think it opens the possibility for quarantining in place and those kinds of alternatives. so you don't have to close the of difference for millions of people. phillipe djegal all kron. 4 news. >

george rutherford, says it is best to keep it with vaccination numbers low among those age groups. >> mostly, the downside is not just infections, but schools get closed and miss out on education and it is disruptive for everyone. kumasi: we have reached out to every local bay area county to see if it plans to drop the mask mandate rules. other counties are still deciding. reggie: across the country, covid cases are declining or stable in every state. several northeast states among the hardest hit ar announcing plans to lift mask mandates in schools. jobina, this is obviously divisive. jobina: the cdc says the recommendation still stands that anyone two years and older should continue to wear masks in public. delaware, connecticut and oregon are planning to end school mask mandates. the governor of new jersey says he is leaving restrictions up to the school districts. some health professionals say it is too soon to end school mask mandates because vaccination rates are not high enough among the school-age population. >> vaccination rates are the lowest in individuals under age 40. we

ucsf, professor of epidemiology doctor george rutherford says after the super bowl and after valentine's day seems like a logical time to lift indoor masking requirements related to covid except for people who are unvaccinated and 2 years of age or older. if your people. >> wearing masks, hopefully more people vaccinated and the relaxed relaxation of some of the controls. we just have to trust that do things protect themselves as they and how they feel the best protect themselves. >> but really protect the community as well. and it is on a system. >> 2 years of age and younger, of course, doctors say it is still important to get tested for the virus. if you showing symptoms and to follow isolation, guidance, if you do test positive. >> city of berlin game is going to keep requiring people to wear masks inside city buildings and facilities. the city is keeping its indoor masking rule in place beyond next wednesday. that's when the county is lifting its mandate to align with the rest of the state approval of the covid vaccine for children under the age of 5. it won't be coming until at lea

. >> ucsf professor of epidemiology doctor george rutherford says kids 6 months of age up to 4 years old could begin receiving their covid-19 shots within weeks as soon as pfizer receives an emergency use authorization by the u.s. food and drug administration for its vaccine in that age group is nothing short of a miracle. doctor rutherford says, although it seems as if the pandemic is dragging along at a slow pace, fast track covid-19 vaccines have proven effective in providing protection against the virus and making it available to everyone. 6 months old and above, we'll improve lives. a lot of these kids are in day care and pre k stuff. >> and when the class gets 6 place shuts down. and so you have, you know your pay. the parents have to take 10 days off of work, arrange for alternative childcare just because their kids been exposed. so this is going to help on that. initially, pfizer is seeking approval of the first 2 doses of a three-dose series. the company says data on a 3rd dose given at least 8 weeks after the second dose is expected in the coming months. >> and will be subm

ucsf epidemiology professor doctor george rutherford says. >> he also believes vaccine mandate should remain in place. we don't have nearly enough people vaccinated. understand california. >> we may have almost 70% of the eligible population vaccinated only a little bit more than half of those have been boosted. you have to boosters in order to have vaccine effectiveness. so an honest to god, we only have about 40% of the population fully fully fully, really vaccinated. so that's why, you know, it's premature to jettison a lot of the stuff. >> and bay area, doctors point out if you're immunocompromised or part of another high risk group just because the indoor mask mandate is going away. doesn't mean it should go away for you. dan kerman kron, 4 news. >> we've got clear skies, warm temperatures ahead. of fact, we could see some record breaking need. we'll talk about it coming up. plus, the federal government signaling safe havens for drug users may be allowed. we are. >> speaking to the california lawmaker who's spearheading injection sites in our state on exactly what this would mean

. >> ucsf epidemiology professor doctor george rutherford says with only half of eligible californians boosted it's also too early to get rid of vaccine mandates, especially for certain groups, health care workers. >> people living in long-term care facilities and other congregate living facilities, which include, by the way, college students living in dormitories. i think the there's the state has been required for school through her priest preschool through through 12th grade education. that will happen this summer. >> and bay area, doctors point out if you're immunocompromised or part of another high risk group just because that indoor mask mandate is going away. doesn't mean it should go away for you. dan kerman kron, 4 statewide indoor mask mandate is set to be lifted next week. >> it was put into place by health officials back in december as the omicron variant of covid-19 was surging raging right before the holidays. all that travel. now the question is which local counties will >> follow suit? but the state or maybe choose to be more restrictive. kron four's. dan thorn has that

ucsf epidemiologist dr george rutherford believes students still need to mask up or vaccination rateso young to be vaccinated. absolutely. if you have a high school where 25 or 30% of the students are fully vaccinated. that's not good enough. i think from a public health perspective , kids should really have been allowed to go first with unmasking and dr jean noble, director of covid response for ucsf's emergency department feels differently. she and other colleagues created a petition urging the governor to lift mask mandates in schools, leaving the choice up to students and staff . they have the most to lose their masks, you know, six hours a day, five days a week when they're still trying to, you know, learn how to enunciate their words interpret complex facial emotions. the california federation of teachers sent us this statement. we support developing a plan for transitioning away from asking in schools and off ramp that is based on science and not politics. greg lee ktvu, fox two news oakland teachers say they're joining together to file a legal challenge to the decision this we

a year in the united states, so you have to, you know, so this, as added on top of them, dr george rutherfordssor of epidemiology, says those 900,000 covid-19 deaths far exceed the estimated 72,000 influenza deaths in the us over two years. experts say covid vaccinations and booster shots are a big factor in the decline of covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths. boosting. doubles your doubles the efficacy effectiveness of the vaccine for a macron. in downtown oakland friday. girls with the heat dance line group or masks, along with the crowd as the first fridays street fair returned after being shut down last month due to covid. i think everybody's excited just to get out. everybody's looking forward to just getting out and having some fun, it feels awesome to be back out and again, it's also great that the numbers are going down, so it kind of helps us put the event on. i'm one of the people that convinced one of my friends all my friends to get vaccinated. it wasn't easy. we don't trust the government. some say they've lost friends or family to covid. i lost two family members, but i mean

george rutherford supports the decision, but says it's not a sign we're out of the woods just yet. things are falling so fast right now. looks like we're in pretty good shape. however, i would point out there were more cases yesterday than there were at the absolute highest point of the fall of the winter outbreak last year. what's still unclear is when california will lift the mass mandate for kids in schools according to the national academy for health policy, california is one of 16 states that currently require students to wear masks in the classroom. one of those is new jersey where today the democratic governor announced the school mass mandate will lift in march. here in california some parents have been calling on newsome to lift ours, too. saying it's an unfair burden on kids, but dr. rutherford says it's best to keep it. i think that has or tail to it mostly because the downside is not just infection. it's schools get closed and they and they miss out on education and it's disruptive for everyone as es how much longer california will need to be in a state of emergency in

ucsf epidemiologist dr george rutherford believes students still need to mask up or vaccination rates are low pre school where children are too young to be vaccinated. absolutely. if you have a high school where 25 or 30% of the students are fully vaccinated. that's not good enough. i think from a public health perspective , kids should really have been allowed to go first with unmasking enough doctor jean noble, director of covid response for ucsf's emergency department feels differently. she and other colleagues created a petition urging the governor to lift mask mandates in schools , leaving the choice up to students and staff. they have the most to lose their masks, you know, six hours a day, five days a week when they're still trying to, you know, learn how to enunciate their words interpret complex facial emotions. the petitions garnered more than 40,000 signatures. one parent writing, they need to see their smiling peers. they need facial expressions and to lose the distraction of the mask in the classroom. the california federation of teachers sent us this statement. we suppor

. >> ucsf professor of epidemiology doctor george rutherford says kids 6 months of age up to 4 years old could begin receiving their covid-19 shots within weeks as soon as pfizer receives an emergency use authorization by the u.s. food and drug administration for its vaccine in that age group is nothing short of a miracle. doctor rutherford says, although it seems as if the pandemic is dragging along at a slow pace, fast track covid-19 vaccines have proven effective in providing protection against the virus and making it available to everyone. 6 months old and above, we'll improve lives. a lot of these kids are in day care and pre k stuff. >> and when the class gets 6 place shuts down. and so you have, you know your pay. the parents have to take 10 days off of work, arrange for alternative childcare just because their kids been exposed. so this is going to help on that. initially, pfizer is seeking approval of the first 2 doses of a three-dose series. the company says data on a 3rd dose given at least 8 weeks after the second dose is expected in the coming months and will be submitte

ucsf epidemiologist dr george rutherford believes students still need to mask up or vaccination rates are low pre school where children are too young to be vaccinated. absolutely. if you have a high school where 25 or 30% of the students are fully vaccinated. that's not good enough. i think from a public health perspective , kids should really have been allowed to go first with unmasking enough doctor jean noble, director of covid response for ucsf's emergency department feels differently. she and other colleagues created a petition urging the governor to lift mask mandates in schools , leaving the choice up to students and staff. they have the most to lose their masks, you know, six hours a day, five days a week when they're still trying to, you know, learn how to enunciate their words interpret complex facial emotions. the petitions garnered more than 40,000 signatures. one parent writing, they need to see their smiling peers. they need facial expressions and to lose the distraction of the mask in the classroom. the california federation of teachers sent us this statement. we suppor

as a traditionalist i believe today we honor george washington, abraham lincoln and rutherford b. mattress sale. ( laughter ) of course, if you happen to be president on this presidents day, i wouldn't want to be you. because russia continues to be russia. they have been amassing troops around ukraine for weeks, and this weekend, biden said that putin has made the decision to invade. plus, u.s. intelligence ( says an order has been given to russian subordinates to proceed with a full-scale attack. that sounds bad, but there might still be time to stop the invasion. because, the big russian general has to tell the slightly smaller general who has to tell the slightly smaller general and so on. they can't find the tiniest commander cuz he was eaten by the dog. ( cheers and applause ) the u.s. says russia's looking for an excuse to invade, so people got pretty nervous on saturday, when russian separatists started shelling ukrainian army positions, which u.s. officials warn could be the prelude to direct russian military action. now, call me old-fashioned, but once you're shelling, th