monica gandhi of ucsf. from a medical standpoint is this a safe move what the governor announced today? >> this is the safe move. so, what happened is, as you know, the cdc guidance was revised on friday to really say, when do we have to mask, when do we not have to mask. it really was based on hospitalizations in a region. and the reason that's so important is that's why all of our non-pharm pharmaceutical interventions were put in place to reduce intervention from covid. if you have 10, over 100,000 people hospitalized for covid-19, that you're in the green zone and you can unmask, green or yellow. essentially, the entire state of california is there if you look at our hospitalizations around the state. so it is the safe thing to do. and in addition, you know, children have had the most restrictions of any group in california. as you know, february 15th is when we can all take our masks off inside if we are vaccinated. now we are about a month later for children. so it is the right time for unmasking of c

we will hear from a ucsf doctor who conducted a recent study. about all of that. in new york city, ♪ ♪ there's always something new to discover. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ come be a part of it. plan your next vacation at iloveny.com its wake. a recent ucsf report found that san francisco's homeless death rate more than doubled during the first year of the coronavirus outbreak. 312 died in march of 2022 march, 2021 in 2019. that number was 1 47 overdoses where the number one cause of death. joining us to shed some light on the report is one of the authors ucsf's chief of emergency medicine. dr maria raven. good to have you with us doctor. thanks for having me well, the pandemic was tough on all of us. we know that. but more than double the homeless death break. did that surprise you? it did surprise me. i think in some ways we anticipated that it would be higher just because there was a lot of concern about morbidity and mortality in the homeless population due to covid 19, but i think the fact that we didn't see any deaths as a result of covid-19 was quite surprising and that th

we talked to ucsf dr. monica conti about what we have learned about covid, and what might be ahead. >>> all new at 6:00, another sign that the area is bouncing back from the pandemic. mask rules will soon end inside the classrooms, but our kids ready to ditch the face coverings? >>> transportation agencies around the bay area say more people are using their services as they returned to work. coming up, will receive ridership return to the levels we remember before the pandemic? >>> today marks 2 years since the world health organization officially declared the 19 a pandemic. during that time, the u.s. and the rest of the world have experienced lockdowns, and surge after surge from variants like alpha, delta, and omicron. here in the u.s., nearly 80 million have been infected, and more than 950,000 have died from the virus. >> now cases are declining. the latest test positivity rate in california is at 2%, a big drop from the 26% positivity rate at the height of the omicron surge back in january. >> we are

we're going to get guidance from one of our covid experts at ucsf. you're watching nbc bay area news tonight. >>> welcome back to nbc bay area news tonight, this is pretty unbelievable, but it happened. we reported last week about the cold case murder of a convenient store owner in san carlos. tonight, we have the exclusive details of how that cold case was cracked. it wasn't new technology or dna, instead it was good old fashioned luck. in 1993 ming was shot inside the devon shire little store during a botched robbery attempt. it was featured on america's most wanted. the case went cold until recently. ray in a hoffman ramos was arrested. police in oklahoma were searching her home as part of an unrelated investigation, when they found a personal journal, with something very shocking inside that journal. a confession. under a heading, things i regret, she allegedly wrote, the killing of a korean man during a robbery attempt in 1993 in san carlos. we should note, tang was taiwanese, not korean, but sources say details in her journal matched the robber

we speak to ucsf dr.ed, and the paths forward. >>> the skyrocketing cost of butter forces a local bakery to pick it. how it is finding a sweet spot in plant-based baking. >>> our top story, move over uber and lyft, the bay area ride-share market got tighter with the new company claiming to offer better services for drivers and clients. >>> right now the bay areas for ride-share business is dominated by the lyft and uber duopoly peer group for accounts for 69% of the market. lyft has 30%. kpix 5's andria borba has more on what the new kid on the block , alto experience, has to offer. >> reporter: uber and lyft which upended the taxicab industry is getting new competition in the market, not only helping to poach passengers, but drivers as well. the disruptors are about to get disrupted with huge market shares, ridesharing services that match you from an app to a stranger's car are getting a roadblock from a company called alto. just like uber and lyft, you can use an app to call a car. but unlike those comp

ucsf epidemiology professor doctor george rutherford agrees older folks should definitely take advantage of this. 4th jab. >> i think anybody older and who or who has underlying risk factors and as >> good to go out into the should get it. it makes perfect sense to me. and while admits there isn't a lot of data so far as to how effective a second boost will be. >> he's not as concerned about it says even those 50 to 64 should consider it if they'll be increasing their exposure. if you're going, for instance. >> on a long trip overseas this summer. probably makes sense to get it. i certainly plan to get it. >> so far, the walgreens and cvs websites haven't been updated to allow the newly eligible to sign up for that 4th jab that's likely to change soon. in san francisco, dan kerman kron, 4 news. >> new tonight at 5, a california lawmaker who wrote a bill that would have required all workers around the state to be vaccinated against covid. so she's halting that effort. the bill would have made covid vaccination, a condition of employment and employers who did not comply would face fights.

. >> at ucsf, dan kerman kron, 4 news. >> pfizer is asking u.s. regulators to authorize another booster dose of its covid-19 vaccine for people 65 and older. the vaccine maker is citing data from israel that suggest older adults would benefit from the extra dose at least one infectious disease expert in the bay area's not so sure about that. she shared her reaction kron four's justin campbell. >> think that there's a profit motive in deciding on that. monica gandhi, an infectious disease doctor and professor of medicine at ucsf says on top of the financial motive, she doesn't think the pfizer ceo should decide when we need a shot. we don't use to everyone. >> all the time like the pfizer ceo implicating doctor gandhi says people who need their antibodies high the time. >> may need to get a 4th shot. and usually those are older people immunocompromised or people with multiple co-morbidities. but for everyone else, doctor gandhi says will have to learn to live with the virus as state and countries roll back pandemic restrictions probably going to be

maria raven chief of emergency medicine at ucsf's parnassus campus is seeing these cases firsthand. she authored a report in collaboration with san francisco department of health that points to a grim number 311 homeless individuals died in san francisco between march 2020 and march 2021 substance abuse was the main driver but also, what's the role mental health is playing in these cases. we know that a large number of people with substance use disorder have co-occurring mental health disorder, but this is not a san francisco exclusive issue. today's state and national leaders met a different roundtable. so discuss ways to tackle the homeless and mental health crises dr. galley california's secretary of health and human services was in los angeles to discuss a new framework to help californians struggling with mental health and homelessness. just had a chance to see sort of one of the models that were really excited about with the care court plan that the governor announced just last week we chance to meet a couple of clients that lives were literally transformed secretary of the us

now here at ucsf. we saw a big uptick suicidal ideation or comg into the er with thoughts of suicide. during the pandemic. we've seen a big escalation and kids being admitted to the hospital for eating disorders, so it's not a surprise, but it's highly concerning our adolescents. mental health was poor before the pandemic, and i think school closures and the whole pandemic made it a whole lot worse. how much of this really has to do with isolation , not only for the teens, but their parents to who are creating some of these issues. yeah the data suggests that it has a lot to do with social isolation and primarily that was funneled by schools being closed . so when we look at the data, we see that 6% of kids who remain connected to their schools in this survey hit attempted suicide. 6% is an alarmingly high number, but it was 12. for kids who felt unconnected disconnected to their school. so double that rate. we see a similar trend in kids who seriously considered suicide or kids who ranked their mental

and my first job was mount zion emergency hospital which is now ucsf.on emergency, i have a sense of pride knowing that i had a part of building that place. yeah, i did. i graduated as an apprentice and worked on a retrofit for city hall. i loved looking at that building and i take big pride in knowing that i was a part of that retrofit. my first formen job was a 40 story building from the ground up. and it's a predominantly male industry and most of the times people underestimate women. i'm used to it though, it's a challenge for me. >> as a female you're working with a lot of guys. so when they see a woman, first they don't think that the woman is in charge and to know that she's a person that is in charge with operations, i think that it's great, because it's different. it's not something -- i mean, not only a female but the only female of color. >> i was the first female finisher in the cement shop and i was the first crew supervisor, in the shop as a woman. when i became a two, the supervisors would not help me. in the middle, they'd call me a rook

and my first job was mount zion emergency hospital which is now ucsf.drive by ucsf and i look at the old mount zion emergency, i have a sense of pride knowing that i had a part of building that place. yeah, i did. i graduated as an apprentice and worked on a retrofit for city hall. i loved looking at that building and i take big pride in knowing that i was a part of that retrofit. my first formen job was a 40 story building from the ground up. and it's a predominantly male industry and most of the times people underestimate women. i'm used to it though, it's a challenge for me. >> as a female you're working with a lot of guys. so when they see a woman, first they don't think that the woman is in charge and to know that she's a person that is in charge with operations, i think that it's great, because it's different. it's not something -- i mean, not only a female but the only female of color. >> i was the first female finisher in the cement shop and i was the first crew supervisor, in the shop as a woman. when i became a two, the supervisors would not h

. >> reporter: according to ucsf epidemiologist he is hoping with a high vaccination rates here in the bay area cases will continue to decline even though the omicron subvariant is already circulating in our community. testing of the waste water detected ba2 in palo alto and gilroy. >> we see that it is likely replacing ba.1, the original omicron infecting the population. >> reporter: ba.2 is the subvariant. the concern is that the u.k. always the u.s. what is to co r diseing to thent of erics have sped tcoronavirus so far which means covid-19 has the ability to still do a lot of harm. >> we have a lot of kindling for the fire if it gets back in. so that is why we have to have high vaccination rates including boosters and continued vigilance to spot trends before they develop. >> george rutherford hopes the bay area can avoid a huge surge even though the time for families to gather and travel for spring break is just around the corner. this comes as the state is getting rid of mask mandates and other restrictions. >> while we can get rid of mask mandates today, we can get rid of other

well, doctor peter chin hong with ucsf says he supports this latest decision. >> he says it speaks volumesity's case rates and outlook when san francisco, one of the most conservative cities in the country throughout the pandemic is no longer requiring proof of vaccines or a negative test at large indoor events. >> on april first, san francisco will party like its 2019 again for the first time since large events have been allowed, the city will no longer require proof of vaccination status or a negative test. the county is aligning with state guidelines by dropping these requirements for indoor mega events with crowds larger than 1000 people find that some of the most conservative counties. >> some cisco sun and clara county, la county, which have really the most careful during the pandemic have signed on means that we're really in a good place right now. despite information about a new variant known as the ba 2 variant. >> infectious disease specialist at ucsf doctor peter chin-hong believes it is

ucf, the 10 seat -- use eff -- ucsf, the tendency. they did happy sweat it out on the hilltop the afternoon. they are one of the final four teams revealed on today's selection show. >> it is one thing to kind of strive for, it is another to actually accomplish it. we made history. that is something i will be super proud of for the rest of my life. >>'s it's unexplainable. my hands are shaking, my heart is beating fast. it is crazy. i'm just really happy we got it done, but we are not finished. great season including a win over top-seeded gooden zach of this year. they are going to play in portland on thursday against the winner of the wyoming-indiana game. they will take on the winner of ucla on saturday. the stanford women entered the ncaa tournament on a 20-game win streak, rolling through yet he-1on. ey wonhe 1 tourstanford, the one see in the spokane region, will host montana state in the first round on friday. >> whatever bracket you're in, you are going to be playing with other great teams, so that's just the nature of it. we've

ucsf says he supports this latest decision. >> he says it speaks volumes about the city's case rates and outlook when san francisco, one of the most conservative cities in the country throughout the pandemic is no longer requiring proof of vaccines or a negative test at large indoor events. >> on april first, san francisco will party like its 2019 again for the first time since large events have been allowed, the city will no longer require proof of vaccination status or a negative test. the county is aligning with state guidelines by dropping these requirements for indoor mega events with crowds larger than 1000 people find that some of the most conservative counties. >> some cisco sun and clara county, la county, which have really the most careful during the pandemic have signed on means that we're really in a good place right now. despite information about a new variant known as the ba 2 variant. >> infectious disease specialist at ucsf doctor peter chin-hong believes it is safe to lift these restrictions. things out variance come on board. and this is the sub-lineage that's very,

one of those people. 20 of sunshine the sudden, bright blue skies, more cloud >>> researchers say ucsffound people with certain genes packed the benefits of a full night sleep into four to six hours. the so-called elite sleepers can shield against neogen donative diseases. identified five genes that play a role in efficiency and their hereditary. also on the subject of sleep, parents are willing to pay big bucks to get shot i. one poll survey found 82% of new parents averaged five hours of sleep or less per night. they would spend average of $211 to get a good nights rest and 10% would drop 1000 bucks for uninterrupted sleep. >>> u.s. stocks rallied today after the federal reserve announced its first interest rate hike since 2018. the dow was up 518 point, the nasdaq 848, the s&p 500 up 95. u.s. inflation on the rise andi cost at home as many of us have seen. michael george takes a closer look at the fed plan to get things under co is groceries or used cars, consumer prices accelerating at the fastest rate in 40 years. the federal reserve is attempting to tap the brakes on inflation by

area, more analysis on the white house covid-19 strategy from an infectious disease specialist at ucsf. watch our stream whenever and wherever. find us on pluto tv, channel >>> a pair of brothers in indiana got a huge surprise at school. they were very busy on the blacktop, writing thank yous to the military along with other classmates, when this happened. four years since they last saw him, their big brother austin came home from serving in the air force in hawaii. >> seeing my brothers had appreciation not just for my service, but for everyone service, it is really awesome. >> austen said he faced times a lot but as you can see, nothing like getting together in person. we can all say that. >>> today is read across america day, celebrated march 2 in honor of dr. seuss's birthday. the author wrote more than 60 children's books. those include cat in the hat, green eggs and ham and how the grinch stole christmas. it was started as a way to get children excited about books. many libraries, bookstores, community centers, they host events to help kids mark the day. >>> seeing the batman in

>> well, ken doctor, peter chin hong with ucsf says he supports this latest decision. he says it speaks volumes about the city's case rates and outlook when san francisco, one of the most conservative cities in the country throughout the pandemic is no longer requiring proof of vaccines or a negative test at large indoor events. >> on april first, san francisco will party like its 2019 again for the first time since large events have been allowed, the city will no longer require proof of vaccination status or a negative test. the county is aligning with state guidelines by dropping these requirements for indoor mega events with crowds larger than 1000 people find that some of the most conservative counties. >> some cisco sun and clara county, la county, which have really the most careful during the pandemic have signed on means that we're really in a good place right now. despite information about a new variant known as the ba 2 variant. >> infectious disease specialist at ucsf doctor peter chin-hong believes it is safe to lift these restrictions. things out variance c

let's get some reaction now from ucsf infectious disease expert dr peter chin hung. good afternoon, doctor. hi, frank. good to have you with us. so dr hong, in your opinion, are are we ready? is it is it time? is it safe? well in terms of school masking. i think it's definitely, uh hard to see. because we're on this train. the train is moving to that destination. we're probably just have a few meters left again. it really depends on how safe people feel i can tell you the science and we can talk about the science. till there's no tomorrow but at the end of the day depends on values and help people feel. you know, every family comes from their own situation, and every district is going to look at the same science. the same numbers very differently. i think they're all going to end up at the same place. whether or not it's march 11th or very soon after, but, uh, pretty much. in a few weeks . this will not be a debate anymore because it will be at ground zero. boy that sounds good. well, the governor also lifted the mask requirement for unvaccinated students and adults

. >>> coming up on are streaming service cbs news bay area , we speak with a ucsf infectious disease specialist about president biden's new plan for covid-19. you can watch our stream wherever, whenever. find us on pluto tv channe nowadays, mediocre wifi just won't cut it. but xfinity has wifi faster than a gig to power a house full of connected devices. it can handle all this all at the same time. oh! can your internet do that? i've been meaning to catch up on this. uh, that was my chair. get $200 back when you get gig speed internet or get started with xfinity internet for $19.99 a month for tweleve months. switch today. >>> a chicago family flying the ukrainian flag received heartwarming gesture of support from their neighbor. >> their doorbell camera caught the little girl weaving a piece of handmade artwork outside of their door, before returning to walk her dog. it was a piece of construction paper with a ukrainian flag and a heart. >>> a union city bakery has also come up with a sweet way to help the people of ukraine. niles pie company is coming up with orders for a special c

reporter: a professor of neurology at ucsf believes more data is necessary to determine what is causingage to the brain. and to find ways to heal. >> the people who had m.r.i.'s who did not have covid must've had some other problem with their nervous system that was being looked into. so it may have underestimated the problem with covid. dan: as i'm sure you've noticed, gas prices are high and will likely be getting higher in the days and weeks ahead because of the work in ukraine. check out this graphic. shows where prices stand in all parts of the bay area. all record highs with an average of point report. alerts per gallon -- 5.34 gallup dollars per gallon. trouble experts think the rising gas prices could lead to a potential benefit. for people using mass transit. as abc7news reporter learned, bart is hoping this could help them bounce back from the pandemic. reporter: prices at the pump keep rising. many places across the bay area are averaging over five dollars a gallon. >> there's nothing to do except deal with it. reporter: as people watch the meter rise and rise, will this chan

discuss his efforts to keep the pandemic at bay and restore normalcy, although under a new normal, is ucsf infectious diseases specialist, dr. hong. great to have you with us. last night, the president wanted to return to normal to do other the things we loved and missed. he also emphasized keeping schools and businesses open. overall what you think about the emphasis and tone,? dr. hong: i like the tone and emphasis. previously, a few months ago, ao the biden administration was criticized for putting all the eggs in the vaccine basket. this shows us there is no one-size-fits-all. kristen: a big part of this new phase in the new plan is test-to-treat. what does that entail exactly? i know it is being able to test and then if you test positive on the spot, you get treatment. tell us where you would have to go for this and what kind of treatment we are talking about. dr. hong: yes, so we are talking about pills. paxlovid 10 cut down hospitalization risk by 89%. the highest risk people. unvaccinated with comorbidities, you test on site. do get the pills in 5 days, three pills, twice a day. kr

now joined by expert from ucsf, doctor, good to see you, you see multiple reports published a day doesstick out to you? >> it definitely sticks out, raj, because although we heard about symptoms that people had covid experience i think this is validation for many symptoms like potentially brain fog, cognitive difficulties and even though they weren't really neck in neck, we couldn't identify the people in the study who had chronic systems along covid, nevertheless it does give some precedence for having objective evidence of these symptoms. >> we talked about long covid for months. we really haven't talked about this, losing gray matter, according to this research what's it mean in layman's terms? >> so the gray matter is the part of the brain that causes us to really think. it's, you know, in contrast to white matter which is, you know, not exactly filler. but if i had one part of the brain i'd want to keep, it's the gray matter. so normally 4.2% loss per year, in this study, the people who had covid compared to the people who didn't there was an extra 0.2 to 2% loss of volume as well

this afternoon, dr george rutherford from ucsf. thank you. take care. sure you too. a new environmental, california study . scorecard is out and our state did not get high marks, according to the group, california environmental voters , the state gets a grade of d on climate action in 2021. the group says. this is the first time california has ever received a score that low. the scorecard is comprehensive of a comprehensive analysis of where state leaders stand on the environment and climate crisis. rescore legislators the governor on votes on climate action, um for the previous year, so everything we're talking about today will be based on the actions that were taken in 2021. the group says california score is unacceptable because the nation and world looks to our state for leadership on environmental matters. new data shows californians are using more water despite the drought and governor nuisance calls for voluntary reductions, according to the state water resources control board. water consumption across the state increased 2.6% in january. compared to the same

n sleep medicine specialist at ucsf.pokesperson for the american academy for sleep medicine. thanks for coming on to thank you. thank you. sure. well at the time change. it has been nice to get outside for a hike or bike ride. something like that with the sunset. not until 7 18 this evening and we will have a clear skies for that sunset will be different story, though, for tomorrow. solid cloud cover out there. in fact, the cloud cover increasing overnight tonight. into it tomorrow morning to the sunshine we have right now will quickly change. probably while you're sleeping tonight into tomorrow morning. now we are still talking about a system that wants to at least kind of flirt with the bay area and that will be on saturday. rainfall expectations. we trained to trip them back up a little bit, maybe a few 107 inch to just over a quarter of an inch of rainfall for the coastal hills, so this will not be the system. we really want to move in. and also in the sierra. they're going to pick up some snowfall as its system appr

ucsf, infectious disease specialist doctor monica gandhi breaks down new research. that's as protection from the pfizer vaccine may fade faster and more dramatically in children under 12 than in any other group. the first study was from the new york department of public health. >> of the 5 to 11 year-old vaccine against reinfection declined during the omicron start actually went down to 12%. a different study was released by the cdc to show that there was a decline, but it was nowhere dramatic essentially 2 doses of the vaccine is not protected against infection. i think that's a fair way to put the summary of the studies, both doctor gandhi and doctor john swartzberg, professor of infectious diseases at uc berkeley. agree that the vaccine still has benefits. vaccines are holding up still very well in terms of fit, protect against what's really critical. >> and that's hospitalization and death. doctor gandhi says there are 2 reasons she believes the children's vaccine is losing effectiveness more quickly than the adult. one wanted to lower dose. it wasn't high enoug

joining us with tips on how to cope is a sleep medicine specialist at ucsf and a spokesperson for they of sleep medicine. explain the science of why of us are extra tired today. >> just to move earlier is so hard because our biological clocks don't want to listen necessarily just because it is a clock change. the other has to do with how much sunlight we actually get during the day. just because we try to go to sleep an hour earlier doesn't mean we can necessarily fall asleep an hour earlier. that's why we want to gradually shift over time to go to bed 15 or 20 minutes at a time. then we get up 15 or 20 minutes earlier. if we have a few days, that will be great. if not, at least get up the next morning, get lots of sunlight, go for a walk to train the biological clock so that her eating and sleeping habits can be more normalized. kristen: it sounds like you are saying we should have a started a week ago like adjusting 10 or 15 minutes each day. >> ideally, sure. the internal clock can be nudged a little, but to make that one hour leap is almost impossible to do on the spur of the mome

. >> the doctor from ucsf hopes the bay area can avoid a huge surge even though the time for families to gather and travel for spring break is just around the corner. this comes as the state is also getting rid of mask mandates and other restrictions. >> we can get rid of mask mandates today. we can get rid of other things today. it doesn't mean that he with can keep it that way forever. >> the white house is urging dock to approve the next round of funding for the country's covid response. some local counties say that as of now they are well equipped to handle the next surge. the doctor said that a funding package is critical in the future fight. >> we will need that money. especially if we start moving toward more expensive solutions like testing and treating with these new anti viral drugs. they will be complex decisions and it'll cost a lot of money. >> kpix5. >>> it's 4:40. happening today bart, red line service between richmond and milbrae will be back up and running after a broken power cable knocked it off track for weeks. repairs are underway but bart said it's able to draw e

we are asking an infectious disease expert at ucsf. dr. gandhi, i fit into that category. when i heard it, like a lot of people, i was, like, again? should i? the pandemic seems so far away from me right now. is it a pause? i just got mine in december. do i wait? do i do it? what do you think? >> i don't think anyone needs -- pretty much 50 and older need it. i get that information from the data. there was a study that gave health care workers in israel between the ages of 50 and 65 four shots, no difference in vaccine effectiveness or even bringing down their viral load or being infectious to others like person you just showed. that was published in the new england journal last week. other countries are only boosting over 70. that would be germany and the u.k. is over 75. sweden and canada are over 80. so to go down to 60, we just didn't have the evidence for it. and there isn't evidence it protects you against severe disease. >> we had other people saying, oh, we should follow europe. they are having a surge now in cases, so that might be coming our way, so maybe you sho

. >>> coming up on are streaming service cbs news bay area, we talked to ucsf infectious disease specialistsdent biden's new plan to fight covid-19. you can watch her stream in new york city, ♪ ♪ there's always something new to discover. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ come be a part of it. plan your next vacation at iloveny.com when you need help it's great to be in sync with customer service. a team of reps who can anticipate the next step genesys technology is changing the way customer service teams anticipate what customers need. because happy customers are music to our ears. genesys, we're behind every customer smile. >>> welcome into sports. the women's pac-12 tournament to lead us off. stanford ran the table in the regular season. they also have not lost since the calendar flipped to 2022. let's get quarterfinal action in today at las vegas, taking on the oregon state beavers. stanford wearing soccer shirts during warm-ups to honor katie meyer, who passed away this week. the cardinals up 16-2 early. cornell triple, got it. eight threes for stanford as a team today. from the third ring of saturn, got it a

monica gandhi from ucsf. we might be okay because of our high vaccination rates. are we better protected here against ba.2? >> well, we are because if we look at denmark and the u.k. -- i think those are the two places that have vaccination rates similar to ours. actually, we're even higher than denmark. their cases went up, but their hospitalizations stayed flat. and so that really is that de-coupling of cases and hospitalizations that occur with variants when you have high rates of vaccination like we do here in the bay area. >> if we do see a spike, though, when would that happen and how would it compare to our previous omicron and delta surges? >> well, the other difference with ba.2 now is a lot of us saw ba.2. it's harder to get ba.2 after ba.1 because they're sister variants. they're very close. we may first the waste water surveillance going up and then a week later cases going up. but i expect our hospitalizations will stay flat. >> what are we learning right now about the severity of the subvariant ba.2? >> so there was a large study in the u.k. that loo

he trained as a resident in internal medicine at ucsf. he replaces jeff zient who led the pandemic response team for president biden. >>> plans to use money from president biden's american rescue plan to improve air quality in schools. the pandemic has shined a spotlight on this issue. that's why many schools leave their windows open. using portable air cleaners in areas with poor air flow. long-term investigating upgrading heating or hvac systems and installing insulation. >>> most california schools went to school without those mandatory mask rules but many kids and teachers are masks up inside. some by choice. some because individual school districts and counties are allowed to set protocols more strict than the state guidelines and some are still requires masks. the chief of the state schools says he thinks the local control is so far working well. >> i would command our county health officers and our california department of public health. they have certainly given us as much as one could hope for. if we keep talking to our schools,

at ucsf. dan kerman kron. 4 news. >> the biden administration is asking for more than 15 billion dollars in the fight against covid saying that the money is needed to continue testing to continue stockpiling antiviral a medication. the money could also determine whether the u.s. will have enough shots for a possible booster campaign. this fall and an adequate supply for children under 5 once the vaccine for them is approved. state lawmakers today rejected an attempt to end governor newsom's covid related. >> state of emergency. this was the first time state lawmakers could publicly debate whether to keep the emergency in place or not. but while the bill fell short, it is still alive and could still come up again for a vote later this year. kron four's capitol bureau reporter ashley zavala explains. >> no state lawmakers in the senate tuesday shot down a resolution that would end california's pandemic related state of emergency. it is time. >> for the legislature to reassert its constitutional

. >>> coming up on are streaming service, cbs news bay area, we talk to ucsf infectious disease sp ♪♪h! oh my! okay it's my turn, i'm going to drive. ♪ you've been, you've been ♪ ♪ running through my mind ♪ ♪ and i've been thinking that it's just about time ♪ ♪ we get together, together ♪ ♪ i've been, i've been ♪ ♪ doing just fine ♪ ♪ and you've been, you've been doing alright ♪ ♪ let's get together, ♪ ♪ together ♪ ♪ so come on ♪ >>> big changes coming to san jose's music in the park when it returns in person this summer. >> ♪ ♪ >> former nightclub owner mauricio mejia is taking over as organizer for the event. he says he wants to create a more welcoming atmosphere to the shows, making it much more inclusive by scheduling a more eclectic mix of musicians. music in the park returns july 17, the 19. the lineup has not yet been announced. we will keep you updated and it is released. >>> thanks to a 12-year-old youtuber, police dogs across the country may be in line for new protective gear. >> one ohio boy has helped raise more than half of $1 million for bulletproof vests for police dogs

at ucsf.he biden administration is asking for more than 15 billion dollars in the fight against covid saying that the money is needed to continue testing to continue stockpiling antiviral a medication. the money could also determine whether the u.s. will have enough shots for a possible booster campaign. this fall and an adequate supply for children under 5 once the vaccine for them is approved.

. >>> joining me now, one of our covid experts from ucsf. nice to see you.this much ado about nothing or should we be concerned about this strain? delta cron? >> yeah, it is nothing to lose sleep about. it is something to be curious about because it just really is a symbol of the fact that the pandemic isn't gone away. but this has been around since january and hasn't really kicked off, even though it has been around a whale. denmark but not much more so far. >> so very few cases worldwide. can this change? why are we talking about it now? >> well, it can change. with the w.h.o. acknowledging that it even exists, it means we pay attention to it. our countries can look for it. it is kind of an omicron world. and looking for something else is really important. as we constantly continue surveillance. >>> moving you forward, mayor breed is urging you to get back to down san francisco. it's been mostly empty. she announced a new plan called bloom sf. businesses are teaming up to hold a week-long series of events to welcome everyone back. there will be make, enter

in most indoor spaces, doctor monica gandhi with ucsf says the decision better aligns the state with cdc guidelines and is based on hospitalization rates. they just put in hospitalization rate. and the reason they do that is partially because we've had so much infection from the omicron surge. there's one estimate the 75% of americans have seen omicron. >> and that led to a lot of natural immunity. almost everybody getting infected with omicron. >> at some point, even if you don't know if everyone will still have to wear masks and high transmission settings like public transit and health care facilities. doctor peter chin-hong also added doctors now have more tools to help covid positive patients. interventions now. >> even for unvaccinated people to keep them away from the hospital. he says he doesn't expect to see an uptick in cases in the coming weeks. i think that the numbers will continue to go down because there is a huge amount of community immunity right now. doctor gandhi has been looking at data out of the u k. >> they removed their masks about 4 weeks ahead of us. they hav

reporter: a professor of neurology at ucsf believes more data is necessary to determine what is causing. and to find ways to heal. >> the people who had m.r.i.'s who did not have covid must've had some other problem with their nervous system that was being looked into. so it may have underestimated the problem with covid. dan: a a a a a a gas prices are high and will likely be getting higher in the days and weeks ahead because of the work in ukraine. check out this graphic. shows where prices stand in all parts of the bay area. all record highs with an average of point report. alerts per gallon -- 5.34 gallup dollars per gallon. trouble experts think the rising gas prices could lead to a potential benefit. for people using mass transit. as abc7news reporter learned, bart is hoping this could help them bounce back from the pandemic. reporter: prices at the pump keep rising. many places across the bay area are averaging over five dollars a gallon. >> there's nothing to do except deal with it. reporter: as people watch the meter rise and rise, will this change the look of bay area transit?

john schwartzberg with uc public health, and infectious disease doctor with ucsf dr. monica gandhi said a good take away was that the vaccine appears to be safe because of the efficacy of the vaccine does not appear to be as high as many would have liked it, gandhi says this is exciting news. >> in this study, the primary endpoint was good at neutralizing antibodies to fight the virus. they saw across all age ranges, a good regimen. >> reporter: moderna has initiated submission to the fda for emergency use authorization of it's vaccine for the age group of 6 to 12. i'm joslyn moran, kpix 5. >>> oakland international airport is getting closer to pandemic recovery. traffic is at 79% of pre- pandemic levels but during that month, more than 667,000 passengers passed through the airport. more than 13,000 of those were international travelers. >>> a live look at the trans- american pyramid, getting ready for a major makeover. according to the sentences go chronicle, the buildings ownership plans to invest $250 million to renovate the building and add a treeline park but the

and my first job was mount zion emergency hospital which is now ucsf.very day that i drive by ucsf and i look at the old mount zion emergency, i have a sense of pride knowing that i had a part of building that place. yeah, i did. i graduated as an apprentice and worked on a retrofit for city hall. i loved looking at that building and i take big pride in knowing that i was a part of that retrofit. my first formen job was a 40 story building from the ground up. and it's a predominantly male industry and most of the times people underestimate women. i'm used to it though, it's a challenge for me. >> as a female you're working with a lot of guys. so when they see a woman, first they don't think that the woman is in charge and to know that she's a person that is in charge with operations, i think that it's great, because it's different. it's not something -- i mean, not only a female but the only female of color. >> i was the first female finisher in the cement shop and i was the first crew supervisor, in the shop as a woman. when i became a two, the supervi

ucsf breast cancer dr.ressively, and not all are found with mammograms. >> 60% of cancers are found with screening. about 40% of cancers are found by women themselves because they feel something. super important point, if you feel a mass, just because you have had a recent normal mammogram, don't ignore it. this is particularly true over the last couple of years with covid-19, don't ignore that symptom. but, it is also important to know, if you have a small, low- grade screen detected cancer, it might be extremely low risk. there, we wanted the opportunity to safely do less. >> her team is studying the breast -- best way to screen for breast cancers. for more information on the wisdom trial, go to kpix.com. >>> researchers at the university of washington believe they have found antiaging pill for dogs. naomi ruck, has more on the treatment that could add a couple of years of life to your dog. >> reporter: stormy, the chocolate lab is in love with the hunt and her human, kevin medved, is in love with her. >>

. >> infectious disease specialist at ucsf doctor peter chin-hong believes it is safe to lift these restrictions. things out variance come on board. and this is a sublineage that's very, very similar to the body. >> like omicron, it's not like it's going to go up in a big steep curve. it's going to be very gradual. and i think we'll be able to predict it with wastewater epidemiology as well as the traditional measure of number of new cases, according to the san francisco department of public health. >> individual businesses like the chase center can choose to keep any safety measures in place. in a statement to kron 4 news, the chase center says it will also align with the county and no longer require proof of vaccination or negative test. meanwhile, vaccinations and masks are still strongly recommended. i think we all enjoy. >> the times when the numbers are low, numbers go higher. i you know, we'll be ready to pull out these mass. keep the testing kits in your closet, bring all of these things when when time comes. but for right now, things are looking pretty good. >> well, that was taylor is

ucsf says that the ideal time for the second booster would be in the middle of a surge.. >> no one can predict what's going to happen around the time when immunity will wane. >> the rate of decline in the u.s. has slowed. a highly contagious b-2 variant is now the dominant strain, accounting for 55% of new cases up 20% in one week. still, nationwide boosters are a tough sell of the 217 million people fully vaccinated. fewer than half, have the extra shot. >> think of the fourth shot, the second booster has helping to bring you back to the same levels that you had to protect against omicron. >> in conra costa county, they are waiting for a run on the booster. >> walk-ins are available, given the increase demand, it would br now. >> all of it while they put an end to the need for all the shots. >> it's hopefully not one you have to get every six months or so. you get it once or twice and that could be it. >> terry mcsweeney, bay area news. >> so with the second booster now approved, how many people across california have gotten that first one? we went ahead and crunched th

joining us live now, ucsf epidemiologist dr. george rutherford. thank you for taking the time, as always. i think there will be a lot of questions about this one in particular. how beneficial do you think a second booster is for adults 50 and over, and what about somebody who is young and healthy, he just wants protection? >> i think this is the way to get it. it's a lot better than getting the naturally acquired disease. i plan to get it if it is offered. i am only slightly above 50, but i do plan to get it. there are some preliminary data from israel which show that it has a real effect. so, you know, i think we are hoping we might be able to skate through, but i think this is the better part of valor. just so people know, this vaccine is equally effective against the ba 2 variant as it has been against the earlier variant, so, i think we -- i think it helps, i think it helps us, but if you are traveling this summer it will give you four months of immunity, at least. >> how long should people wait to get a second booster after their last shot? >

joining us live now, ucsf epidemiologist dr. george rutherford.nk you for taking the time, as always. i think there will be a lot of questions about this one in particular. how beneficial do you think a second booster is for adults 50 and over, and what about somebody who is young and healthy, he just wants protection? >> i think this is the way to get it. it's a lot better than getting the naturally acquired disease. i plan to get it if

i spoke with associate professor of ucsf orthopedic surgery, doctor nirav pandya about what the recoveryoing. to be clear. he's not treating curry. >> obviously what ligaments of all talk about it. you know how that is torn really determines exactly what the timeframe is. but assuming, you know, based on the reports he's going go down and see a doctor for a cull who took air you know, back back in 2016. so assuming he says, look, nothing surgical, then you're like okay with that time frame for on the good end, you know, really minor sprain. you could be 7 to 10 days. you that end like it's a severe kind of anthony davis lakers type foot sprain. it could be more long, 6 weeks. i got is kind of based on watching the video and what they're reporting. probably 3 to 4 would be a reasonable time frame. you know, if this were mid playoffs, maybe they would say, look, let's push it and try to get him back a little bit earlier. but better let this he'll bit longer. and also given the fact that curry's had ankle issues before you don't want something afoot to kind throw off the ankle and you're de

. >> 50 year-old ucsf infectious disease specialist doctor monica gandhi agrees those 65 and older or immunocompromised should get a 4th shot. but she says the data doesn't convince or those under 65 should. i am disappointed that fda and cdc did not consult them respected advisory to it. i think that increases trust in the process. and i think thatthis is going to net of consumption so far. the cvs and walgreens websites haven't been updated to allow the newly eligible to sign up for that second booster. >> that's likely to change soon. in san francisco, dan kerman kron, 4 news. >> new tonight is 6. this is your risk of being hospitalized with covid may be determined by the size of your fingers. researchers in the uk say a patient's testosterone levels play a key role in how sick they get after infection. previous studies have shown that having a longer ring finger is a sign of higher testosterone levels in the room on the other hand, a longer index finger signals higher levels of estrogen. typically men have longer ring fingers. women have longer index fingers. the new study examine