Just its congregation . Be gods hands and feet in the community. How one church is helping its neighbors keep the faith when it comes to redeveloping one of americas historic cities. And, a deadly link between covid and the air you breathe. Soledad im Soledad Obrien. Welcome to matter of fact. The covid19 pandemic is worse than ever. And the country keeps breaking records. Hundreds of thousands of people have died. Thousands are getting sick with each passing day. And hospitals are running out of icu beds again. The virus has killed Hundreds Health care workers. The toll n our front line caregivers goes well beyond the physical. These photos are only a snapshot of what its like staring down another surge of the pandemic. Bob owen and lisa krantz of the san Antonio Expressnews captured these images during two overnight shifts at the covid19 intensive care unit at northeast baptist hospital. Bob owen describes the experience. Bob the first time i went in, i was pretty shocked. And when you see that door open and you see everyone in ppe and you see the patient either in a wheelchair or on a gurney, you think, ok, should i back up . The doctors and the nurses, they just go like clockwork and they try to comfort the patients as much as possible. There was a patient who the Health Care Workers thought would not make it through the night, and the clergy called the family. And i think they were there for maybe 20 minutes. But this is the last moment that the family had with their loved one. The Health Care Workers, theyre faced with ungodly situations. And i just respect everything that they do nowadays. Soledad the u. K. Is already giving out its first shots of the vaccine. And the u. S. Says about 40 million doses of vaccines from pfizer and moderna will be available within days. The first shots will go to our 18 million Health Care Workers. Theyll require two doses. Honor health, which operates six hospitals in maricopa county, arizona, is responsible for vaccinating Health Care Workers and atrisk First Responders in the northeastern part of the county. Dr. Stephanie jackson is in charge of the operation. She is Senior Vice President and chief clinical value officer for that organization. Dr. Stephanie jackson, what a pleasure and a privilege to talk to you. How do you feel about this responsibility that lies now on your shoulders and other leaders in the medical community . Dr. Jackson now, i mean, this is the absolute most important project ive ever worked on, probably in my entire career, and to be able to deliver this vaccine to our Health Care Team thats been working so hard on the front lines of covid, its just going to be the best holiday gift that we could give our Health Care Workers. One of the reasons were having these these practice dry runs, is because it has to be done perfectly. Soledad what exactly are you practicing . Dr. Jackson the logistics of this vaccine are very complicated. The initial vaccine from pfizer is the one that we think we will get here at honor health, and it has to be kept frozen at 70 degrees. So, theres a short window from the time that you thaw the vaccine and reconstitute it to deliver it into the arm of the patient. And then you have to make sure that that patient comes back 21 days later to get the second shot. And you cant mix the brands, cant start out with a dose of pfizer and then get a dose of moderna later. So, it is very complicated. And just the the act of getting that many people through in a matter of hours to use up the vaccine will be technically challenging. Soledad is there enough of the vaccine for everybody . Dr. Jackson no, theres not, and i dont think there will be for some time. And so what well be doing is having a prioritization algorithm, using a computer, a cell phone app, and Health Care Workers will answer some questions about what type of work they do in health care and then those Health Care Workers that are working on the front line, in the emergency rooms, in the intensive care units, in the places where they are interacting daily with covid patients, those are the highest priority to get the vaccine. Soledad the first dose, they say, gives 50 coverage or protection, and the second dose brings that to 95 . Is there a different strategy around distribution of the second dose so that you dont have people who somehow got the first one, but drop off before they get the second one . Dr. Jackson i think thats going to be a really critical piece, and one of the reasons we want people to enroll in our we call it our twistle app, is to make sure that they get reminders to come in for that second dose because we want them to have the full efficacy of the vaccine. Soledad is the vaccine free to you . Do you have to pay for it . Dr. Jackson the vaccine is free and were not charging for the vaccine. We will charge an Administration Fee and its been set by cms at about 45. And those charges will be billed to insurance companies. And in the event that someone doesnt have insurance, then itll be waived. Soledad when should the public start thinking about when they could have access to the vaccine . Dr. Jackson theres a plan using cvs and walgreens type pharmacy chains to go out and vaccinate the persons that are living in extended care facilities or group homes. And that will be more of a mobile program. Then in arizona, we are then going to essential workers, such as teachers, Grocery Stores, prisons, all of those places. Only after those phases are completed will it be a more of a general distribution that you just go to your doctor or go to your pharmacy to get a dose. And so its going to be a while until the general public is vaccinated. Soledad dr. Stephanie jackson, thank you so much for your time. Really appreciate it. Dr. Jackson thank you, soledad. Coming up, an event to brighten even the darkest day of the year. But first, why its getting harder to stop misinformation in its tracks. If something is false, you call it false and you think thats going to solve it. Call it false and you think thats going to solve it. Vicks vapopatch. Easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family. Trusted soothing vapors, from vicks on all the food that makes you boogie. [narrator] grubhub perks give you deals upbeat music get the food you love with perks from [crowd] grubhub. Grub what you love. G. I can file and manage myss claim, all on the geico app. Its not just easy. Its givingyourdog yourfitnesstracker easy. Oh, good boy. Yes, you got it woo already got my 40,000 steps today. Can i get a what what no pain, no gain haha. Its geico easy. With fast and convenient claims service. Look how fast im running good boy, chester. For members like martin. An air force veteran made of doing whats right, not whats easy. So when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. Thats how you do it right. Usaa insurance is made just the way martins family needs it with hasslefree claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. Because doing right by our members, thats whats right. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa soledad welcome back to matter of fact. In just a few weeks, voters in georgia will decide the direction of the u. S. Senate. And just like in the general election, voters are left on their own to sift through social media feeds of misinformation. But the georgia runoffs are not the latest battleground for mis and disinformation. While hospitals run drills on how to distribute the vaccine, people are debating whether or not to even get it. The head of the Worlds Largest humanitarian network, International Federation of red cross and red crescent societies, is urging governments to fight fake news about the vaccine. How can people know fact from fiction . Whitney phillips is an assistant professor at Syracuse University who teaches media literacy, mis and disinformation and political communication. Professor phillips, nice to have you. Lets start with the phrases disinformation and misinformation. Youve been studying this kind of thing for quite a while. What did you start seeing, lets say, in 2016 and the election . Prof. Phillips the thing about 2016 that was most striking and that i studied most directly was issues of amplification. So, whether something was misinformation, so false or misleading information inadvertently spread, or disinformation, false or misleading information deliberately, purposefully spread, when journalists or everyday people would respond to it, even to debunk it, that would amplify the mis and disinformation. And it would make it it would give it sort of a longer tail. Essentially, it would allow it to travel more places to more audiences, to more unpredictable effects. Soledad do you think social media platforms, lets pick facebook, for example, could do a better job . I mean, is the technology there to actually pluck out what is disinformation, what is false, what is a false narrative intentionally, and shut it down . Prof. Phillips so you look at social media platforms, especially facebook, there are absolutely enormous logistic challenges and labor challenges to moderating those kinds of platforms. So im not saying that moderation is as simple as flipping a switch. Its not that. But when you see persistently over years the same kinds of problematic, harmful, hateful, dehumanizing content allowed and not just allowed, but incentivized to spread, recommended to other users, it really begins to look like that content is, if not embraced and enjoyed by facebook, then tolerated. Soledad im beginning to come to the realization that facts just dont matter to some people. And what do you recommend . What do you think is the right way to navigate that . Prof. Phillips well, i think that so if 2016 was the election of amplification, 2020 has proven itself to be an election of the limitations of facts. That facts are absolutely critical, but facts and facts alone are not enough to correct some of the worst, most insidious, most harmful information that is spreading around online. And you can look at, you know, far right conspiracy theories like qanon or the deep state or any other kinds of covid denialism. Those theories, even after all of the fact checking, all of the debunking, all of the careful responses by journalists who are doing their best, those theories have not just not gone away. Theyve actually become more prevalent. So we need to essentially relearn our relationship or reimagine our relationship with facts. Soledad how do you reimagine a relationship with facts . I dont know what that means. Prof. Phillips so, most people think that when they google things online and when they start seeing results, that thats reflective of objective reality. But thats not. Thats reflective of what the algorithms are feeding people. And so if youre a qanon believer or youre qanon curious, the algorithm kind of can tell that based on the things you search and what you do. So its going to continue giving you things that corroborate what youre already looking to find. Soledad whitney phillips, thank you so much. Fascinating conversation. Really appreciate it. Prof. Phillips thank you so much. Coming up, a dirty problem making the pandemic worse. But first, spreading the gospel outside of church. Jamesetta we want people to know that theyre not forgotten. Should churches have an obligation to create jobs and upward mobility for the community . Soledad for the last two years, our series russell rising has followed a billiondollar revitalization project in the heart of louisville, kentuckys black community, the west end. It started with ambitious goals, to redevelop the historic neighborhood without displacing the people whove always lived there. Last week, we showed you how some in the community see development and others see displacement. Pam were going to give you hope by building a fancy building, and were going to hope you leave. Soledad this week, we look at the role churches play in driving change in their communities. Jamesetta our hope is in god. Amen. Glory, glory soledad this is st. Peters United Church of christ in louisvilles west end. Reverend Jamesetta Ferguson is senior pastor. Did you have a vision for what you wanted the relationship between the church and the community to look like when you first came to st. Peters . Jamesetta what i had hoped was that we would serve all people and be gods hands and feet in the community. Soledad reverend fergusons church is in a storefront around the corner from its original home of more than 100 years, closed since 2014. At that time, the surrounding neighborhood had about 9,000 residents, almost 60 of them living in poverty. Jamesetta there was a lot of deterioration. No jobs. We were lacking stores. We only had one Grocery Store to serve 9,000 residents. Soledad many of them lived right across from the church in louisvilles largest Public Housing project, beecher terrace. It was showing its age and had become unsafe. Jamesetta in 2014, there were a series of killings, seven to eight People Killed in a twoweek span. That seemed to create enough tension and enough attention to the need to do something. Soledad that something was to tear beecher terrace down and disperse its 572 households across the city. Jamesetta a lot of our membership moved, and they now are in places in Jefferson County that make it difficult for them to attend church. Soledad today, 640 new apartments are going up where beecher once stood. Half of them have been set aside for former residents with no increase in rent. But only 40 have expressed interest in coming back. Jamesetta theyre not believing that things are different. Who wants to come back to the same old, same old, right . You want to come back believing that there is something there for you. Soledad st. Peters wants to provide that something at its church and at a new retail and Office Complex its building across from the new apartments. Jamesetta all of a sudden, its a reality. Oh, lord. Soledad therell be restaurants, a bookstore, a preschool, a health clinic, and more. Jamesetta and im looking for us to be a Bustling Community again. Soledad whats the churchs role in the Economic Development . Jamesetta were projected to bring about 25 million back into the community and over 100 jobs. And most of the tenants are minority owned. Soledad at its new building, the church is counting on rental revenue. Jamesetta we have the food pantry where we distribute about 160,000 pounds of food annually to over 13,000 people. We do recovery for 400 to 500 men and women each week. We have a Remote Learning site for young people, so that they can come and do their Online Learning here with a professional teacher. We want people to know that theyre not forgotten. Soledad while development on the west end is backed by government and private funds, its community buyin and participation that will ultimately determine its success. Jamesetta ive been the pastor here since 2006 and ive never seen this amount of those of enthusiasm. And i think theres a sense of hope that this time, this time something is different. Soledad if you want to watch this or any of the other series, go to matteroffact. Tv, and search russell rising. Next, why the government passed on a chance to pump the brakes on something making the pandemic worse. Plus, a gift from the sky so rare it hasnt been seen in nearly 900 years. When i found out. I had hiv, it was difficult for. Me to accept. I decided. Hiv doesnt define me. My names dimitri. And im on biktarvy. Biktarvy is a complete, onepill, onceaday treatment. Used for hiv in certain adults. Its not a cure, but with one small pill. Biktarvy fights hiv to help you get to and stay undetectable. Thats when the amount of virus is so low. It cannot be measured by a lab test. Serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. Rare, lifethreatening side effects include a buildup of lactic acid and liver problems. Do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. Tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take,. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. If you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your doctor. Common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. If youre living with hiv. Keep loving who you are. And ask your doctor if biktarvy is right for you. Keep loving who you are. We have the power to harness californias Abundant Solar and wind energy, but its not available all day long. Use less energy from 4 to 9 pm for a cleaner california. Soledad now to a segment we like to call were paying attention even if youre too busy. The Trump Administration declined to set tougher standards on industrial soot emissions, a deadly air pollutant, despite evidence linking dirty air to respiratory illnesses, including increased covid19 death rates. Soot can enter the lungs and bloodstream and cause inflammation that can lead to asthma, heart attacks, and other illnesses. It can come from a variety of sources, like smokestacks, power plants, cars and trucks, incinerators, and burning wood. Public Health Experts and Environmental Justice advocates slammed the decision to not tighten regulations, saying low income and minority communities will be exposed to more bad air. Thats because industrial pollution like soot is heavily concentrated in those communities. The Environmental Protection agency is legally required to review the latest science and update soot standards every five years. The epa administrator andrew wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, said there wasnt enough Scientific Evidence to merit a change. Next, a present from the planets just in time for christmas. Did you know that 70 of your immune system is located in your gut . To boost your immune system try align Gut Health Immunity support. Aligns quality probiotic strain, adds more good bacteria to your gut, to help strengthen your immunity. Try align today. Of panera deals that make you want to move. doorbell rings duh duh upbeat music duh duh duh duh duh duh duh [announcer] for a limited time, get a 5 off perk on your panera order, only on. [group] grubhub [announcer] grub what you love. Five blades and a pivotingglide flexball designed to get virtually every hair on the first stroke, while washing away dirt and oil. So youre ready for the day with a clean shave and a clean face. Soledad we are less than a month away from seeing something big, not just the end of 2020, yay, but an event called the great conjunction. On the winter solstice, december 21, jupiter and saturn, the two biggest planets in the solar system, will appear very close together when viewed from earth, creating a bright starlike event in the southern sky. They havent been this close since the year 1226. If you dont see it on the 21st, thats ok. This planetary duo will be moving slowly across the sky until christmas eve. In fact, many believe this interstellar event could be similar to the fabled star of bethlehem or the christmas star from the nativity story. Thats it for this edition of matter of fact. Well see you next week. Listen to matter of fact with Soledad Obrien on apple podcasts and spotify. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] today on Asian Pacific america we talk with betty young, a Public Information officer for the Santa Clara CountyHealth Department on the Current Situation of the pandemic and what you need to know to navigate it. We continue showcasing the grant winners for aaja, rising with the tide project, stories that need to be told. Today bayanihan. And our cultural performance with one of our favorites of the bay area group. Im robert