an health plan. >> building a better bay area. moving forward and finding solutions. as is abc 7 news. kristen: you are watching "getting answers." we asked experts at your questions every day at 3:00 to get answers for you in real time. today, we look at the united nations climate change summit and what could come out of the meeting of local leaders. california's lieutenant governor is there representing california and she will be joining us live. we will also be talking about national brush day, about your teeth, the day after halloween. but first, marin county is lifting its mask mandate for most public places.

masks are no longer required for indoor places. they wl stecommendedough ae sh's remain in place for schools, public transit and medical settings. joining us now is marin county's public information officer. marin is a first county in the bay area to drop the mask mandate. explain what metrics were met. >> as you may recall, a few weeks ago our regional bay area health officers set forth a three point criteria in order for a local county to lift its mandate. that was based on vaccination progress, hospitalization rates and how a county was doing within the cdc's community

transmission tracker. we were able to meet that criteria because as far as our vaccination rates go, more than 80% of our community is totally vaccinated. looking at hospitalizations, we are looking at some of the lowest rates we have seen in months. and as it relates to the cdc's community transmission tracker, we were able to maintain more than 21 cumulative days in the moderate or yellow range of community transmission. and today, anyway, marin county is the only california county in that range. kristen: congratulations. first in the bay area to meet that 21 day or more range. what about offices? >> i am glad you brought that up. there is one thing you did mention in your opening package and that was that marin county is back to defaulting to the

state of california's health order on masking. indoor masking is lifted for most, it is still required if you are unvaccinated or not yet fully vaccinated in a lot of those common settings that we visit. we are talking restaurants, grocery stores. by lifting the local order, we are making it possible for those that are fully vaccinated to go without masks. and then come as you mentioned, there are those three key settings for people, regardless of vaccination status, still have to wear masks and that includes schools, day cares, health settings like hospitals and medical offices and public transit other we take the bus or the train or flight. those are areas that regardless of your vaccination status, you have to wear a mask. kristen: i am fully vaccinated and i can go shopping without my mask if that is my choice and importantly, if the business is

ok with it because businesses can still require masks if they choose to. that is still there right. >> california gives businesses three options. they can take their customers' word for it that they are vaccinated. secondly, they can choose to verify vaccination status by checking vaccine cards or the qr codes a lot of us use now. or third, they can say, we will continue to require masks for all who enter regardless of vaccination status. our advice is that if you are shopping or going to be visiting a business in marin, keep your mask with you even if you are vaccinated because -- and frankly, we do not want to convey the point that masks are not important. they are still an important mitigation tool.

we know our community knows how to use them so we do not need to mandate them by ■law but weknow they are still strongly recommended. kristen: which brings me to the point, if you say, there is still good reason to keep your mask on for the winter, there are some who would argue, why drop the mandate in the first place? if you do that, isn't that shortsighted because you might have to shift course again the second another wave comes about. >> it is hard to say what future waves will look like. we are in a different place from last winter. more than 80% of our county residents are fully vaccinated and we are on the cusp of some exciting news leader this week with pediatrics potentially being approved for vaccines so the overall vaccination rate will continue to rise.

will we see a rise in cases over the holidays? likely, but not the spike that we saw last december. that being said, we are nearing 20 or 21 months of this pandemic and we know that the community knows what to do. they know to wear masks in the higher risk environments. we do not we need to mandate those behaviors by law. they should already be a part of our normal routine now. kristen: based on our viewer polls, i think folks in the bay area probably will not be changing their behaviors that they have adopted over the last year and a half. i want to ask you though, now that the indoor mask mandate is gone for now, what might trigger it to come back? is anything spelled out? >> in talking to our public

health officer, it would take a really -- and again, to do a health order, it would need to be a pretty drastic setting. we really want to get away from governing i health order and leave recommendations for people to do the right thing. we would only want to issue a health order of that type if we were seeing such a surge that it would impact our health system or if it was an imminent threat to our community. hopefully, we don't have to go there because we are seeing lowercase rates overall because of our higher vaccination rate. kristen: going back into the orange transmission tear would not be an automatic trigger. speaking of vaccination rates, i know you are excited because even though 93% of your eligible residents are vaccinated, you will be able to get more when the 5-11-year-olds go. give us a sense of how the rollout might look like in york

county? >> -- in marin county. county. >> the rollout -- as soon as we get the green light, we will see clinics popping up around marin county in different forms. we are partnering with the county office of education. we understand in some neighborhoods and communities, setting up the next will be easier for parents to access. we will also be providing larger scale clinics. not quite the mass vaccination clinics that we saw early on, but those that could take upwards of 1000 students per day. and medical providers will still be an important resource for families as peschel he as families may still have lingering questions or concerns. a family doctor or pediatrician can be a great source of support assuring the parent is making the right decision for their

child. and then there are our local pharmacies. they are all providers of vaccines now and they have indicated to us that they plan to administer the pediatric vaccine once all of the approvals are in place. kristen: the public information officer from marin county on the first day that the county has dropped its mask mandate. thank you for the information and good luck to you. >> thank you for having us. kristen: global leaders are together to try to make a change to climate change. will anything actually happen?

kristen: global leaders including president biden are in

scotland right now for the united nations climate summit. they are joined at cop 26 scientists and activists. california has a strong presence at the summit led by our own lieutenant governor. pointing us live from glasgow, scotland, lieutenant governor eleni kounalakis, thank you for making the time. lt. gov. kounalakis: thank you for having me and good evening from scotland. kristen: it is 10:00 there. i should probably let you go to sleep. lt. gov. kounalakis: it is so exciting. who can sleep? kristen: i am glad to hear that. today was the big day with speeches from heads of state including president biden. what was your take away from today? lt. gov. kounalakis: the take away the message from the united states is that the u.s. is all in. that was loud and clear. president biden gave that message as did special envoy

john kerry and secretary of state tony blinken. they are all here sending the same message. there is no question that the 190 heads of state that are here because president biden came to send the same message from the platform, they heard it loud and clear. kristen: i know you are all working, the leaders are working to come up to a framework that everyone can agree to and implement what i want to bring up, there are protesters out there and climate activists. inside cop cop cop cop cop cop p positions of power. change will not come from inside. i assume you disagree with that. tell us what you think is actually happening. lt. gov. kounalakis: greta thunberg is exercising spirit of activism that san

francisco is no better than anyone and we need to have that kind of civil society pressure to hold world leaders accountable. california is way ahead of the game when it comes to taking real action. to combat climate change. our 2045 goals of being carbon neutral, everything we do including the fact that we have half of the electric vehicles on the road in united states in california, we have a very high awareness. the rest of the world, not everyone is the same. not everywhere is the same. i think if credit to burke saw the rest of the world take california standards, she would be very happy about that. we are here representing california, a large delegation, to let people know that you can grow your economy and have a healthy economy while combating

climate change and investing in renewable energy. and cleantech. kristen: the philosophy and what we have seen in california is that it is not a binary choice. rowing the economy can go hand in hand with green choices. is that true everywhere? what is true in california may not be true in all parts of the world especially developing countries. lt. gov. kounalakis: i think it has to be true because we have no alternative. the climate of our planet is warming and it is having devastating impacts. we feel it in california with the wildfires and the drought. my family is from greece and i have spent a lot of time there. some of the profiles of the fires in greece and in australia and elsewhere are similar. the world is dealing with the impacts of a warming climate. i think if there was one big difference this year with the united states back at the table

is a real recognition that we have to do what we can, there is no more room for climate skepticism. it is real and it is upon us and we only have until the rest of the decade to get serious about actions that will keep warming under 1.5 degrees celsius. kristen: and that is the threshold. but i wonder if you feel -- this is the 26th such summit, is there a palpable sense of urgency that we cannot just talk anymore? lt. gov. kounalakis: i think the real difference is that climate skepticism has melted away. and what is left is people saying, we know we have to act. what can we do and what is feasible? and again, president biden's leadership is unequivocal. not only is the united states back in paris, that we are

coming crawling back. so his pledge is to reduce climate emissions in the country by 50%-50 2% below below levels we saw in --. he has dedicated mondays from the budget proposal in front of congress right now which is about one third of the stimulus dollars to go to parts of the country where it is harder for them to be able to have resiliency. it is possible. more than anything, this is an existential crisis and there is a level of awareness that i think is represented at cop 26 driving the conversation here. california has been at this table leading the way for

decades. our participation and our voice is especially timely. kristen: today, president biden apologized on behalf of of the u.s. for having pulled out of the paris climate accord before returning this year. you think the u.s. has regained its place? do you get a sense that our leadership on climate change in the world -- i know democrats are optimistic that the old back at her plan will pass, but what do you think the world is thinking? lt. gov. kounalakis: my message is to say that over half of the united states, over half of the gdp of the united states led by california state in the paris climate accords. we have the power in our state to set our emissions

standards. we have kept our authority. we are here to say that even in the worst case scenario with the trump administration and what they did in the last administration really kept -- the u.s. kept going in many ways because of california and other states' continued participation. there is a lot to be hopeful about. our participation here is very important for that reason as well. we will continue to stand on every platform and panel and tell the california story. kristen: i imagine people are approaching you to see what california is doing that is working but what are you hoping to learn through the panels you might want to take home to california and implement here? lt. gov. kounalakis: what is really exciting and it is an incredible privilege to be here

representing california but in the pavilions, not everyone but many countries have these booths and pavilions, the u.s. has one, you can go and see what countries from around the world are experiencing and some of the innovations they are advancing in their countries. and so, places like indonesia that are struggling because much of that country is at sea level. there are countries in africa that are experiencing drought. all around the world, people are coming and telling their stories and sharing some of the innovations. but really binding together in an effort that is, so far, the largest effort to commit to reduction in emissions. so, it is very impressive and exciting. kristen: california's lieutenant governor leading our delegation at the cop 26 summit.

thank you for your time and i promise to let you go to sleep for your full-day tomorrow. thank you and good night. coming up, abc 7 is committed to following all of the latest developments from cop 26 and its impact on the bay area. you can find the latest on our website. now that we have celebrated halloween, it is time to celebrate and even more important holiday, national brush

kristen: today is national brush day and it is no coincidence it is set for the day after halloween. kids have bags of candy that they will be enjoying for days and weeks. now, here to talk about the importance of brushing is a spokesperson from smile california, part of the california department of health

care services. thank you for joining us today. yesterday, we had halloween. is today the single biggest day for candy consumption? >> of course, it is and that is why we are celebrating national brush day. it is always reserved for november 1. it provides a timely opportunity for all families to brush up on their dental habits especially after consuming all of that candy from halloween. kristen: can you tell me the problem with candy? >> as we know, sugararararar teeth and causes cavities. even though they are preventable, they are the most common chronic childhood disease. or chronic then asthma and hay fever. kristen: are certain candies worse than others? >> any candy or food left on the teeth will be bad for the teeth. it is always good to brush between snacking or after we are

done eating so food is not sitting on the teeth and creating the bacteria that causes cavities. kristen: that is not really practical at school though so could you swish some water around? is that better than nothing? >> even in early childhood daycare, it is always recommended that if they cannot do a regular teeth brushing to have mouth rinsing with water. kristen: give us some proper rushing tips. i'm not sure that even i do it properly. i think i go added a little too hard. >> as we know, flossing is very important, twice a day if possible. brushing for two minutes. it seems like a long time but if you break it up into already seconds for each side of the mouth, you will accumulate the two minutes. a lot of electric toothbrushes have two minute timer is. kristen: i want to point out

that one of our viewers says you have nice teeth. and it is because you brush properly and floss. tell us about some of the preventative services that kids and parents should consider her proper rushing. what is available and what if they cannot afford it? >> with the medi-cal program, parents can take their kids to a dentist every six months. and parents once a year. the dental program covers free or low-cost dental checkups and screenings for the whole family. kristen: that is great to hear. you do have a contest going on right now to promote brushing your teeth. tell us about it. >> to celebrate national brush day, smile california is hosting a "show us your brush" selfie contest. three randomly selected

residents will be selected. all you have to do throughout the day today is show us how you are brushing your teeth, the contest closes just before midnight tonight. you will tag, smile california and national brush day to be entered. winners will be notified tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. kristen: that sounds great. the deadline is midnight tonight. >> yes. kristen: thank you so much for helping us learn how to maintain our oral health the day after halloween. halloween. ♪ ♪ increased transportation benefits. one more thing you can rely on. one of many cost-saving medicare advantage benefits from scan health plan for 2022. call today, or ask your agent about scan health plan.

♪ ♪ low maximum out-of-pocket costs. more saving. more spoiling. one of many cost-saving medicare advantage benefits from scan health plan for 2022. call today, or ask your agent about scan health plan. kristen: thank you for joining us today. we covered marin county dropping

its mask mandate and we spoke with our lieutenant governor who is at the climate summit in scotland. tonight, a special edition of "world news tonight." president biden on the world stage here at the climate summit in glasgow. and the major set the back for the president back home. the president addressing world leaders here, sounding the alarm on climate. saying, quote, let this be the moment when we answer history's call. the president apologizing for president trump on climate and making the case here that the u.s. will lead on this, pointing to his domestic agenda back home. but tonight, that major blow to the president's agenda, the key senator, joe manchin, and what he declared today. also tonight, news coming in on vaccines for millions of children. some already shipped, in refrigerators, ready to go. one more step. and tonight in new york city, staying home in defiance.

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