peter chin-hong. nice to have you back on the program. the numbers don't lie there. 6,000 deaths this year compared to 19,000 covid-related deaths last year. why such a drastic cut? >> so there are several reasons, raj. the first is that, of course, vaccines have really penetrated the community. the second is that the variants that we have now aren't quite as dastardly as they were in 2020 and 2021. i think omicron still causes deaths, but it enters the lung less efficiently. the third is that most of the population has already seen covid in one way or the other. >> covid deaths are down, which is great news. what about just overall covid cases? are you even tracking it extensively at ucsf like you've done in the last couple years? >> yes, definitely. we're still seeing covid. we're still seeing unfortunately a thousand people die in the united states every week. it should be close to zero given all the tools we have. even if you don't want to get vaccinated or can't, there is paxlovid, and it really reflects a failure of our system in so

doctor peter chin-hong, an infectious disease specialist at ucsf, here to help keep us healthy. this holiday season. happy holidays to you. >> happy holidays dion. >> all right. it's hard to believe that we are still talking about this many years later. but let's begin with covid. and those reports that cases and hospitalizations, those are rising rate rising rapidly in the bay area. can you tell us why that is? >> well, dion, i think there are several factors. of course, people know that people are getting together more. we recently had thanksgiving. so what that did was brought people from all over the country together, uh. and then they went back home. uh, the second reason, of course, is that we have a new variant that's rapidly be, uh, rising rose to the top of the charts. now, jn1 it's more transmissible. it has more mutations. so people are going to find out. and they already experiencing that. a lot of people, they know have, uh, covid, right now. >> well, we have to talk about this jn1 because what do we know about this variant? is it easily something that we can tackle

so we asked infectious disease specialist doctor peter chin hong to join us.we could talk about this. thank you for joining us. doctor peter. my pleasure. justine is a j and 0.1 or jan one. i just want to make sure have it right. first. >> i'm jan one gen you know, you say tomato. i say to my to ocala say. >> what makes this variant so different? why are we concerned about this guy? >> so the reason why concerned is it has more mutations the variants that have been going around, which have been in the flavor specifically. it's related to what people might remember corolla that one that had 30 more mutations and studies have shown you know, it's nothing really to fear. but if you boost immune system, you can you know, concrete pretty easily. the problem is not enough ball. the rubble. people are getting vaccines right and i think we really need to get that number does do the newest vaccines tackle this variant? yes, very handily. and studies have shown that in and these 4 countries that the new vaccine, even what all of these can give you protection against ser

peter chin-hong an infectious disease specialist at uc san francisco. good morning, thanks for waking up early with us. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> okay. so let's talk about this latest variant and i knows this something we all think about especially as we are in knee deep in the holiday travel season. what is the percentage of cases like right now that are linked to that and how concerned to be? >> well, back in november, it was about -- 8% and right now, it's more than 50%. so it's not only the percentage of -- that it's comprising in the population, but it's the rate of increase and i think that's dizzying to people to see. whatever it is, this particular variant is very transmissible. and it's kind of killing the competition. it's rising up the charts very quickly. >> and really we can talk about covid all day and we talk about those numbers. but what i want to know, what's the practical matter like where does the rubber meet the road? the risk of more hospitalizationings in the state of california and maybe going back to some masks? >> no.

peter chin-hong with ucsf. haven't seen you in a long time, dr. peter, because things were going so well with covid. now the county is concerned that people aren't getting that booster. is it just that -- you know, we used to talk a lot about fatigue. but is it we're not scared? we've lost our fear of covid at this point? what's going on? >> well, i think a few things are going on, jess. certainly part of it is vaccine fatigue. there's also a fear of having a big co-pay early on when the new vaccines came out. people were charged, you know, in error. all of those things have been sorted out, and i hear you can just go up to many places, roll up your sleeves, and get those vaccines because you're right. not enough people are getting them, and the number that i'm most scared about is that not enough people over 65 are getting them because that's the group that i'm extra worried about. >> you know, at some point during kind of the end of the pandemic, there was a lot of talk about that the booster would be kind of like you get the flu shot every year.

peter chin-hong from ucsf. great to have you on. >> happy holidays alex. thank. well, coming up next right here on the four, a bay area organization working to keep sports accessible for all kids. we're live with the giants community foundation coming up right after the break. >> anna barry weather lots of haze out there and lots of high clouds will continue to warm things up as we head into the weekend. and then we're talking about multiple storms that ill approach struggle to afford the cost of competitive sports. >> as we near the end of the year, the giants community foundation is highlighting the growth of its junior giants program, which helps players from underserved families play the sports they love. junior giants now supports roughly 35,000 children across california, oregon and nevada participating in the program is up 20% from last year, and the junior giants program launched at ten new school sites over this past year. >> okay, so for more, we are joined by sue petersen, the executive director of the giants community foundation. sue, really nice to s

telehealth appointments and treatments shipped to you, ucsf infectious diseases specialist doctor peter chin-hong. doctor chin-hong, happy holidays. thanks for joining us. >> happy holidays, kristen. >> all right. let's talk about this. i mean, this part is the not so happy part of the season. you're looking at flu. let's talk about that first because this latest us map that i want to show people this is pretty alarming, especially for us in california. oh okay. that is not actually the flu one that i was thinking of, but, um, yeah, it and okay, this one is from october 2015 and not the one that we were talking about. we have a heat map showing that in this past week, flu activity seems to be really up. yes it is in california. >> it's up 400% in the last month and it's rising very quickly. um, so that, you know, i think that it's still enough time to get the flu shot and the flu shot is really well matched to what's circulating. but a lot of people are coming into the hospital. california is one of the few states to be in the high category level. yeah, only exceeded by louisiana and south caroli

ucsf infectious disease specialist doctor peter chin-hong echoes that sentiment and says all 3 winter viruses are leading to hospitalizations. clinic and emergency room visits threatening capacity. what's really emerging in the background is influenza. it's probably gone up by 100%, but it's lower than ours see in the last week or and we expect that often not. >> thanksgiving holidays, and that will continue to increase the state. health department has also been urging the public to get vaccinated and stay healthy ahead of the winter months. abuses and vaccines icon really over stress that too much. this is still relatively early on from much of the tillis is that we have in the season. so it's not too late. >> and you are advised to check in with your healthcare provider to turn to determine which vaccines are available or you can check the my turn vaccination website for options. and aside from vaccinations, doctors recommend wearing a mask in crowded places, wash your hands and if you feel sick, stay home and seek treatment. early in the studio. gayle ong kron. 4 news scale. thank

ucsf infectious disease specialist doctor peter chin-hong echoes that sentiment and says all 3 winter viruses are leading to hospitalizations. clinic and emergency room visits threatening capacity. what's really emerging in the background is influenza. it's probably gone up by 100%, but it's lower than are seeing in the last week or and we expect that often not. >> thanksgiving holidays that that continue to increase the state health department has also been urging the public to get vaccinated and stay healthy ahead of the winter months. abuses and vaccines icon really over stress that too much. this is still relatively early on from much of the tillis is that we have in the season. so it's not too early. >> and you are advised to check in your healthcare provider to determine which vaccines are available or you can check the my turn vaccination website for options and aside from vaccinations, doctors recommend wearing a mask in crowded places. wash your hands. and if you are sick, stay home and seek treatment. early. gayle ong kron. 4 news. thanks, >> as we take a live outside, it is

infectious disease specialist at ucsf doctor peter chin. hongs it's not a variant we should be super concerned about, but it could be dangerous if you're not vaccinated. >> the studies have shown you know, it's nothing really to fear. but if you boost your immune system, you can you know, concrete pretty easily. the problem is not enough ball. the rubble. people are getting vaccines right and i think we really need to get that number higher. >> doctor chin-hong says hospital capacity is starting to decrease in the bay area. and although the new variant isn't making people sick or there's about a 25% increase in hospitalizations nationwide just over the past 2 weeks. some bart reporting a strange smell following them from the east bay to san francisco, particularly around the 12 street and west oakland stations. some describe it as a chemical smell. others say it smells like sewage or even rotting flesh. riders have been noticing it for a couple of months now. nobody's sure what it is. not even bart. a spokesperson for barr tells us they are awar

. >> ucsf's doctor peter chin-hong is referring to covid and says hospitalization and deaths involving the virus are also up. thursday i spoke with doctor chin-hong and stanford's doctor, dean winslow, about covid. both are strong supporters of covid, flu and rsv vaccines and both brought up the new jn1 covid variant, said omicron subvariant . >> and it. it appears to be very , very transmissible, although you know, it doesn't appear to cause more severe disease, you know, than earlier variants did. >> millions of people are traveling this christmas holiday , and that means millions of people going through airports and crowding in on planes so they can get to family and friends and other areas. >> right now, the biggest risk of covid is in the midwest. um, but we're seeing it nationally as well. and and the new variant , dot one is most common in the east coast, but it's spreading across the country. sort of uniform widely. >> as to wearing a mask, doctor winslow is also a pilot and former air force flight surgeon. >> the air is very clean, you know, again, because the hvac systems in

. >> ucsf's doctor peter chin-hong is referring to covid and says hospitalization and deaths involving the virus are also up. thursday i spoke with doctor chin-hong and stanford's doctor, dean winslow, about covid. both are strong supporters of covid, flu and rsv vaccines and both brought up the new jn1 covid variant, said omicron subvariant . >> and it. it appears to be very , very transmissible, although you know, it doesn't appear to cause more severe disease, you know, than earlier variants did. >> millions of people are traveling this christmas holiday , and that means millions of people going through airports and crowding in on planes so they can get to family and friends and other areas. >> right now, the biggest risk of covid is in the midwest. um, but we're seeing it nationally as well. and and the new variant , dot one is most common in the east coast, but it's spreading across the country. sort of uniform widely. >> as to wearing a mask, doctor winslow is also a pilot and former air force flight surgeon. >> the air is very clean, you know, again, because the hvac systems in

infectious disease specialist doctor peter chin. hongs it's not a variant we should be super concerned about, but it could be dangerous if you're not vaccinated. >> studies have shown you know, it's nothing really to fear. but if you boost your immune system, you can you know, concrete pretty easily. the problem is not enough ball. the rubble. people are getting vaccines right and i think we really need to get that number higher. >> doctor chin-hong says hospital capacity is starting to decrease in the bay area. and although the new variant isn't making people sicker, there has been a 25% increase in hospitalizations nationwide within the past 2 weeks. take a look at this $11,000 worth of over the counter pharmacy products. police in los gatos say they arrested 2 people. >> trying to drive out of town with the stolen goods, say say the suspects were also behind some thefts. that happened in san jose. expect to see more police officers around shopping centers this season. san jose police say they will be stepping up patrols this week to c

respiratory virus season is in full swing right now in the bay, infectious disease specialist doctor peter chin. hong with ucsf says that the 3 winter viruses are leading to hospitalizations clinic, an emergency room visits threatening capacity. >> what's really emerging in the background is influenza. it's probably gone up by 100%, but it's lower than are seeing in the last week or and we expect that often not thanksgiving holidays that that will continue to increase. >> the site's vaccinations, doctors also recommend wearing a mask in crowded places, washing your hands. and if you feel sick, stay home and seek treatment. early. south bay neighborhood spreading some holiday cheer. tonight we take you to their tree lighting ceremony. have you heard? the xfinity mobile black friday sale is on now! don't miss out on a free line of unlimited for 2 years when you switch to xfinity internet! that's over $1,000 in savings. and get up to $800 off the latest 5g phones. connect to america's most reliable 5g network. and join the millions who have switched to one of the fastest growing mobile services. now's y

. >> doctor peter chin hong with ucsf says hospital capacity is starting to go down in the bay area.riant isn't making people sicker, there's been a 25% increase in hospitalizations across the country just over the last 2 weeks. moderna has used mn m rna, technology to develop a vaccine which is custom built for each patient, patient. it would train the immune system to attack the cancer cells throughout the body. the vaccine would be used in addition to merck's, you know, therapy drug together, they would reduce the risk of death from melanoma by. half after 3 years. moderna and merck are asking the fda to fast-track approval. doctors are warning to not hold in your sneezes. by pinching your nose. doctors say you increase the pressure in your upper airways by 20 times. the normal amount it can lead to ruptured eardrums and you're isms and even broken ribs. one doctor in scotland says the patients suffered severe pain after he pinched his nose in closed his mouth to stifle a sneeze tearing his windpipe. well tis the season. we're getting back to those in need is in hearts of many peo

infectious disease specialist doctor peter chin. hong with ucsf says that the 3 winter viruses are leading to hospitalizations, an emergency room visits threatening capacity. >> what's really emerging in the background is influenza. it's probably gone up by 100%, but it's lower than ours see in the last week or and we expect that often not thanksgiving holidays that that will continue to increase. >> the size getting vaccinated. doctors also recommend that you do wear a mask in crowded places, wash your hands and if you feel sick, stay home, don't spread whatever you've got. seek treatment early. >> happening today, the city of san francisco is going to be honoring world aids day. the public is invited to attend a special event at the national aids memorial grove, which is in golden gate park. they'll be doing that from noon until 2 organizers say special prnsentations or plan, they'll have various things that are going to bring awarehess to the public about the aids pandemic. any money collected will go directly to support the mission a

infectious disease specialist doctor peter chin. hong with ucsf ads. the 3 winter viruses are leading to hospitalizations. an emergency room visits threatening their capacity. >> what's really emerging in the background is influenza. it's probably gone up by 100%, but it's lower than are seeing in the last week or and we expect that often not thanksgiving holidays that that will continue to increase. >> besides vaccinations, doctors also recommend wearing a mask in crowded places. washing your hands. and if you feel sick, stay home and seek treatment. early. let's get you a check. your 4 zone forecast tonight. we're taking a live look at the golden gate bridge. you can see the fog starting to creep in there get along. joining us now with a look at what we can expect a go. >> hello, dan. yeah, we're cloudy today. we should see some clearing starting monday. we've been tracking the system. that storm system up to the pacific northwest. you could so far seen. we're seeing a lull in the rain. and as for the bay area, we're seeing lingering light showers, m

an infectious disease specialist doctor peter chin. hongucsf says the 3 winter viruses are leading to hospitalizations, an emergency room visits that could threaten capacity. >>iwhat's really emerging in the background is influenza. it's probably gone up by 100%, but it's lower than are seeing in the last week or and we expect that often not thanksgiving holidays that that continue to increase in addition to vaccinations, doctors recommend that you wear a mask. if you're in a crowded place, wash your hands a lot. and if you feel sick. >> stay home. don't spread it. >> it's 10, let's talk basketball. the worriers taken on the clippers kron. 4 sports director jason dumas stick speak. >> 11, 30 23 that thursday's date. it's also the 3 numbers of arguably the best trio in nba history arguably, i know people in laker land would disagree anyway. klay steph dream on they warriors. they are celebrating the trio's golden birthday or i guess we can call it the golden number day. don't have a number for yet or name. >> these 3 of who've been together

an infectious disease specialist doctor peter chin. hongs that the 3 winter viruses are leading to hospitalizations and emergency room visits threatening capacity. now. >> really emerging in the background is influenza. it's probably gone up by 100%, but it's lower than are seeing in the last week or and we expect that often not thanksgiving holidays that that continue to increase. >> yeah. besides vaccinations, doctors also recommend wearing a mask in crowded places. washing your hands, of course. and if you feel sick, you want to stay home. seek treatment early and try not to spread it. >> the next hour of the kron. 4 morning news. oakland is putting a pause on its first fridays event. we're going to tell you how long that's going to be put on hold. and a family grieving after an east bay teen is shot and -seriously? -why do you do it? -you ignore the signs and the flashing lights. -that's my dad. -that's my mom behind those cones. -how would you feel if that was your family? -flashing lights mean "move over." still living with odors? get

infectious disease specialist peter chin hong with ucsf at the 3 winter viruses are leading to hospitalizations and emergency room visits threatening capacity. >> what's really emerging in the background is influenza. it's probably gone up by 100%, but it's lower than are seeing in the last week or and we expect that often not thanksgiving holidays that that will continue to increase. >> besides vaccinations, doctors also recommend wearing a mask crowded places, washing your hands. and if you feel sick, you should stay home and get treated early. a new student wellness center is open. at know, pete high school officials with the santa clara county office of education and the milpitas unified school district held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the facility on thursday. the goal the center is to provide students with mental health resources. representative ro khanna help get $300,000 in funding to make this center possible. on the peninsula. the san mateo county office of education is expanding exclusive or rather inclusive learning programs for kids with disabilities. they say 14 early learning s

peter chin-hong about the rising infections. >>> plus brock purdy has stepped up for the niners this season. >>> live look outside before we head to break. we are this is how it feels to du more with less asthma... ...thanks to dupixent. dupixent is not for sudden breathing problems. it's an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. and can help improve lung function for better breathing in as little as two weeks. dupixent helps prevent asthma attacks... and can even reduce or eliminate oral steroids. imagine that. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. get help right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. who knows what you can do when you du more with less asthma. ask your doctor about dupixent. the most prescribed biologic for asthma. >>> we thank you for joining us this morning. it's thursday, decemb

infectious disease specialist doctor peter chin. hongzations and emergency room visits threatening capacity. >> really emerging in the background is influenza. it's probably gone up by 100%, but it's lower than are seeing in the last week or so. and we expect that often not thanksgiving holidays that that continue to increase. >> the size of vaccinations, doctors recommend wearing a mask in crowded places. washing your hands if you feel sick, stay home and seek treatment. early. alarming new data this morning. the cdc saying that last year more americans have died from suicide. the data shows men were about 4 times more likely than women to die by suicide. those rates are among the highest among senior men. the cdc says there was also an alarming increase in the suicide rate for women on the other hand, the center says that suicide rates for children and teens both fell last year. so if you are in need of help, there is a resource available to you. the 24 hour hotline, 9, 8, 8, that is available to you. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. com

they say infectious disease specialist doctor peter chin. hong with ucsf adds that the 3 winter viruses are leading to hospitalizations. an emergency room visits threatening capacity. >> what's really emerging in the background is influenza. it's probably gone up by 100%, but it's lower than are seeing in the last week or and we expect that often not thanksgiving holidays that that continue to increase. >> besides vaccinations, doctors also recommend that you wear a mask if you're in a crowded place, wash your hands a lot. and if you feel sick, stay home and seek treatment. early. it's 71. and there's some alarming new data this morning coming from the cdc. they say >> that more americans have died from suicide in the last year. the data shows that men were about 4 times more likely than women to die of suicide and those rates from of the highest among senior man. the cdc says there was also an alarming increase in the suicide rate of women. however, they say that suicide rates for children and teens fell last year. >> a new student wellness cent

infectious disease specialist doctor peter chin hong with ucsf has that the 3 winter viruses are leadingy room visits threatening capacity. >> emerging in the background is influenza. it's probably gone up by 100%, but it's lower than ours see in the last week or and we expect that often not thanksgiving holidays that that will continue to increase. >> the size getting your vaccination. doctors also recommend you wear a mask if you're in a crowded place, wash your hands and if you feel sick, stay home and get treatment early. >> happening today, the city of san francisco is honoring world aids day. the public is invited to attend a special event at the national aids memorial grove. that's in golden gate park. that will be from noon until 2 organizers say special presentations are planned as well as bringing awareness to the public about the aids pandemic. any money collected goes directly to support the mission and programs of the national aids memorial. the world health organization says more than 40 million people have died from aids. 6.50, is the time and we've seen a lot of restauran

ucsf doctor peter chin-hong is talking about the flu and the rapid rise in hospitalization in california's up for 100% in the last month, and it's rising very quickly. >> but the good news says the doctor, there's still time to get protected. >> it's still enough time to get the flu shot. and the flu shot is really well matched to what's circulating. >> and also circulating are new variants of covid 19. >> we have a couple of emerging variants around and you may need to bolster your immune system a little bit more for some of these variants, but so far the numbers are low. more people are going for flu shots. so about 40% of the population getting that, including kids, fewer people going for covid shots, about 17% of the population. but most concerning only about 37% of those over 65. >> i don't worry about it. i already had three times covid, so. so yes, i do work. >> sue matos is 66 years old and says she's keeping up with the vaccines and taking precautions. >> actually, i'm going tonight to a party and we are all trying to get a covid test. i already had mine today. meanwhile the you

already vaccinated or up to date with your vaccinations, ucsf infectious disease expert doctor peter chin-hong tells abc seven news. it's never too late, although you won't be fully protected before christmas, the vaccines will provide protection for the rest of the season. >> new data shows just how those how low those vaccination rates are here in the bay area, only about 20% of people in alameda, san francisco and santa clara counties are up to date on covid shots. >> this is according to the state department of public health. it's lower among some communities. just 10% of black and latino people in santa clara have received the latest vaccines. experts say one reason could be that the covid shot is now harder to access, particularly for people who are underage, assured or even uninsured. the cdc does have something called the bridge access program, which helps people get the shot for free. santa clara county is working to make sure pharmacies are able to take advantage of it. >> doing some secret shopper action. i'm here at the health department where we're calling pharmacies that uh- rece

a lot of flu in the southeast and the gulf states, and then they came back home, ucsf doctor peter chin-hongtalking about the flu and the rapid rise in hospitalizations in california. it's up 400% in the last month. and it's rising very quickly. >> but the good news, says the doctor, there's still time to get protected. >> it's still enough time to get the flu shot. and the flu shot is really well matched to what's circulating and also circulating are new variants of covid 19. we have a couple of emerging variants around, and you may need to bolster your immune system a little bit more for some of these variants, but so far the numbers are low. more people are going for flu shots, so about 40% of the population is getting that, including kids. fewer people going for covid shots about 17% of the population. but most concerning only about 37% of those over 65. so i do worry about it. >> i already had three times covid, so yes, i do worry. sumati is 66 years old and says she's keeping up with the vaccines and taking precautions. >> actually, i'm going tonight to a party and we are all trying to

. >> ucsf doctor peter chin-hong is talking about the flu and the rapid rise in hospitalized asians inifornia. >> it's up 400% in the last month, and it's rising very quickly. >> but the good news says the doctor, there's still time to get protected. >> it's still enough time to get the flu shot. and the flu shot is really well matched to what's circulating. >> and also circulating are new variants of covid 19. >> we have a couple of emerging variants around, and you may need to bolster your immune system a little bit more for some of these variants, but so far the numbers are low. more people are going for flu shots, so about 40% of the population getting that, including kids, fewer people going for covid shots, about 17% of the population. but most concerning only about 37% of those over 65. >> i do worry about it. i already had three times covid, so. so yes, i do worry. >> sue matos is 66 years old and says she's keeping up with the vaccines and taking precautions. >> actually, i'm going tonight to a party and we are all trying to get a covid test. i already had mine today. meanwhil

an infectious disease specialist doctor peter chin hong with ucsf says 3 winter viruses are leading to hospitalizations and emergency room visits that could threaten, capacity. >> what's really emerging in the background is influenza. it's probably gone up by 100%, but it's lower than are seeing in the last week or and we expect that often not thanksgiving holidays that that continue to increase. >> in addition to be vaccinated, doctors recommend that you wear a mask if you're in a crowded place, wash your hands a lot. and if you feel sick, stay home. it's 9.50, right now. and there's some alarming data this morning from the cdc. they say more americans have died from suicide. they found that men were about 4 times more likely than women to die of suicide. the rates are the highest among senior men. there was also an alarming increase in the suicide rate for women. but the cdc says that the suicide rates for children and teenagers, those both fell last year. >> a new student wellness center is now open at milpitas high school officials with the santa clara county office of education an

ucsf doctor peter chin-hong and stanford's doctor, dean winslow, about this new covid 19 variant right now, the biggest risk of covid is in the midwest. >> um, but we're seeing it nationally as well. and the new variant, jn1, is most common in the east coast. but it's spreading across the country. the air is very clean. >> you know, again, because the hvac systems in modern, uh, air aircraft, you know, have very, very high turnover rates. they even use hepa filtration. so actually being on the airliner itself is relatively low risk. but of course, you know, again, you've got to walk through the terminal through the tsa lines. and the other little bit of advice, which, you know, i'd like to give, you know, your listeners, is that those little vents that are over your seat in a commercial airliner, they're called gaspar fans and i strongly recommend people actually turn them open all the way. doctor. winslow says it will help to increase airflow, and it could benefit you when it comes to staying healthy. >> when i just picked this up, i was just like, kind of in shock that there would be

. >> ucsf doctor peter chin-hong is talking about the flu and the rapid rise in hospitalized asians in california. >> it's up 400% in the last month, and it's rising very quickly. >> but the good news says the doctor, there's still time to get protected. >> it's still enough time to get the flu shot. and the flu shot is really well matched to what's circulating. >> and also circulating are new variants of covid 19. >> we have a couple of emerging variants around and you may need to bolster your immune system a little bit more for some of these variants, but so far the numbers are low. more people are going for flu shots. so about 40% of the population getting that, including kids, fewer people going for covid shots, about 17% of the population. but most concerning only about 37% of those over 65. >> i do worry about. i already had three times covid, so yes, i do worry. >> sue matos is 66 years old and says she's keeping up with the vaccines and taking precautions. >> actually, i'm going tonight to a party and we are all trying to get a covid test. i already had mine today. >> meanwhile

infectious disease specialist doctor peter chin. hongnot a variant we should be super concerned about, but it could be dangerous if you're not vaccinated. >> studies have shown you know, it's nothing really to fear. but if you boost immune you can you know, concrete pretty easily. the problem is not enough ball. the rubble. people are getting vaccines right and i think we really need to get that number higher. >> doctor chin-hong says that hospital capacity is starting to decrease in the bay area. and although the new variant isn't making people sick or there's been a 25% increase in hospitalizations nationwide in those rates in the past 2 weeks because the new variant. well, this week weekend caltrain is suspending some service between stations, construction caltrain. all officials say that some of the service will be cut off between they're done and tamarin stations. they say that free buses from the santa clara valley, transportation authority will be available to take instead. some bart riders have been reporting a strange smell foll