Midmorning With Aundrea - July 30, 2020 (Part 1)

(Part 1 of 2) The FDA has identified a toxic chemical found in over 75 different hand sanitizers.

And over 90% of parents polled have concerns about sending their children back to school this fall.

And over $1 billion of those $1200 stimulus checks went to dead people.

Now the government is demanding the families of those who received the checks to return them.

Morning."

The f-d-a has a ne warning out about a toxic chemical found in more than 75 brands of hand sanitizers.

Michael george explains how you can tell which brands are safe.

The f-d-a has added these 4 brands of hand sanitizer to a list of more than 75 that have been recalled.

Some have been sold at major nationwide stores including walmart and target.

The recalled brands contain methanol, a chemical used to create fuel and antifreeze.

And it can make you sick if absorbed through the skin.

"nausea, vomiting headache, maybe pins and needles funny feeling.

But the real classic symptom is blindness or vision disturbance."

At least 2 people in arizona had to call poison control recently after using a recalled brand.

"these peopl admit to using it 10 to 15 times per day, 3 to 4 days in a row.

On the 4th or 5th day they started to experience some vision impairment."

In both cases, vision returned after the patient stopped using the hand sanitizer.

Health experts say methanol can be present in sanitizers when they're not properly manufactured and methanol áwon'tá be listed on the label.

"we really have t buy hand sanitizer from a reputable source or a reputable manufacturer."

And if you're still unsure about hand sanitizer, experts say you already have a great solution at home.

Soap and water are extremely effective at preventing the virus from spreading.

Many of the recalled hand sanitizers come from outside of the country and the f-d-a has issued a warning to one company in mexico and placed their products on a do- not-import list.

Michael george, cbs news, new york.

You can find the full list of recalled brands at f-d-a dot gov.

They are the first.

Students.

Parents.

And, teachers.

The first school district in mississippi where class is back in session.

Jessica gertler reports from corinth.

Alrighty, are you ready to have the best day ever?kids returning to corinth elementary school with backpacks..."hig hopes" ...and fac masks.

Daddy's proud of you, ok?

It is a new challenge for second grader brody quinn...but his dad is convinced the staff will provide a safe environment... jordan quinn parent we weighted our options out and we thought about doing the virtual option, but both me and my wife work and for us it just made more sense that we try to be safe, but get our kid back to school.

Virtual versus traditional...anoth er reason this mom is glad school is back in session.

Earnestine crenshaw ÷ parent i'm a full time working mother so it's kind of hard for me to have someone to watch her during the day.

So i really do appreciate the school getting back open.

New protcols mean school buses are sanitized and students must have their temperature checked before going to class... perfect!

Good job.

Thumbs up means you're good.

Throughout the school social distancing is the rule...students won't be able to use playground equipment.

Meals must be eaten in the classroom...and only in here do students... have the option of not wearing a mask... brian knippers ÷ principal, corinth elementery school we're able to spread out and social distance within the classroom and this classroom stay together all day with their teacher and does not inneract with other classes through the school day.

Principal brian knippers says 13 to 15 percent of the school's 12 hundred students are taking the virtual option.

With all the changes brought on by the covid 19 pandemic he says students are adjusting and happy to see their friends again.

Regardless teachers are ready to answer any questions surrounding this "new normal.

Alysia holley ÷ teacher, corinth elementary school i think we all have a lot of questions...a lot of confusion...but we are in this together.

We're kind of all equally confused and we're learning as we go.

Jessica gertler wreg news channel three corinth, ms alrighty, are you ready to have the best day ever?

Kids returning to corinth elementary school with backpacks..."hig hopes" ...and fac masks.

Daddy's proud of you, ok?

Schools around the country are still figuring out if and how students will return to the classroom this fall.

A new survey shows almost all parents are worried about this upcoming school year.

Naomi ruchim has more.

Kelly kirura's children have been out of the classroom since march..

We really focused on creating routines// so that they could, you know, have as much normalcy at home as they, as they were used to in the classroom.

But there was definitely a learning curve a new survey from nationwide children's hospital of nearly 700 parents shows 90- percent have concerns about this upcoming school year.

Parents have a high level of anxiety and worry dr. parker huston is a pediatric psychologist.

There's a lot more uncertainty about will we be wearing masks, will we not?

Will we be going back every day, some days part days, will we be learning online?

// i think parents are really in a difficult position of trying to help coach their children about what to expect the school year, but also children are feeling that too two in 5 parents say they're concerned about their child's emotional health.

Experts say the best thing to do is start having conversations early and often.

What you know, and what you don't know, and how to prepare for that.

// what we'd like to see is that parents and schools are, are having more open communication about mental health kelly's kids go to private school.

Their school plans to go back full time next month.

They're looking forward to, to seeing their friends and getting back to their normal routine, although it will probably be a little bit different than what they're used to.

She's confident her school is taking precautions and says she'll keep talking to her children to keep them physically and mentally healthy.

Naomi ruchim, cbs news.

Researchers say now is the time to start preparing for the changes children will experience at school such as wearing masks and temperature checks.

For example, kids can practice wearing masks for short period of times at home while playing or reading.

More than a dozen children have died so far this year in hot cars..

Even with americans staying home more because of coronavirus.

Now safety advocates are pushing for new technology that can save lives.

Nancy chen reports.

Jenny stanley is talking about her daughter sydney.

In the summer of 20-10 the 6 year old went next door to play with a friend... but no one was there.

It's not clear why but on her way back home she climbed into her family car and never got out.

With her parents thinking sydney was at the neighbors she wasn't found until hours later and the paramedics were called.

"so they loade her in the ambulance and they came back in and said there's nothing we can do for her, it's too late" a new study from the group kids and cars analyzed hot car deaths since 1990.

They found an average of 39 children die every year but that number has jumped to over 50 during the past two years.

Most cases happen when a parent forgets a child is in the back seat... often believing they had already dropped off their child at school or day care.

But 26 percent of deaths are like sydney's when a child gets in a car on their own.

Some automakers are installing detection systems that can prevent a tragedy.... on a voluntary basis.

But safety advocates want new laws that would require technology in all new vehicles that can detect a child in the car.

"vita sense i sensitive enough to detect the breathing of babies."

Kids and cars held a virtual press conference showing off some new options car companies can install like this device that alerts parents if a child is left behind.

And if a child gets into a car the 3-d imaging radar from vaayer can warn parents.

It's technology jenny is pushing for.

"if i can do anytin just to prevent one family from having to go through this."

She's hoping congress will pass legislation forcing automakers to install detection systems that can help prevent another tragedy.

Nancy chen, cbs news, new york.

A newly developed blood test for alzheimer's disease is now within reach.

Elizabeth cook reports on what may be the breakthrough of the decade during this pandemic..

Kacy counte was worried.

Her mother was hospitalized and delirous.

Could she have alzheimer's?

Kacy counte/daughter "it was somethin that was really scary because she was really confused she didn't recognize us" the delirium passed, her mom was fine.

But it hit home kacy i can't imagine that's something that's awful ce sellgren/diagnose d with alzheimers you know it's a very difficult process.

It's a process of ruling out.

56 year old ce sellgren knows first hand, ce sellgren "they were lookin at head injuries that i got as a kid they were looking at the effects of being post menopausal ..you know a lot of shooting in the dark trying to figure out what it was and the whole process of ruling out" after a year of multiple tests, including an expensive pet scan, ce was diagnosed with alzheimers.

Ce i had to make the decision to retire before i had planned to do so.

Now a simple blood test for alzhziemer's may take the guess work out.

A new study published in jama found the experimental test is highly accurate at distinguishing patients with alzheimer's from those who had another condition.

Dr michael weiner/ucsf neurologist & radiologist "this is one of th major breakthroughs certainly of the decade" ucsf doctor michael weiner is an expert in alzheimer's disease.

The test uses a method to detect and measure certain proteins associated with the degenerative brain disorder.

Weiner 14 sec.

It's a very big deal and its very important.

It's not a treatment its not a cure.

That's what we really need we need treatments and cures to prevent alzheimer's disease but you can't treat a disease unless you diagnose it.

Sot ce yes this is a game changer..

We're going from walking around in a darkened from to have the linghts turned on, as for cece, she's hopeful blood tests like these will help to accererate research ijto treatments and cures sot: not only for me..

But for future generations down the line kacy agrees sot: 8 sec this is something that can potentiall save a lot of lives..and be a good fix for family member all across the u.s. tag: many other blood tests are now in development..

Experts believe we may see them in the clinic in just a few years.

By the way, the alzheimer' association fundraising..

The walks..

Helped fund the blood test..

Covid taken a toll..

When we come back, the stimulus check hasn't helped everyone.

We'll tell you why next on mo as lawmakers debate a new corona- virus relief package, many want it to include another round of 12- hundred dollar stimulus payments to many americans.

In the first round, nearly one- point- four ábillioná dollars went to people who are ádead.á the i-r-s ánowá says spouses and others who received those payments should áreturná the money.

But as consumer investigative correspondent anna werner found out, some people ácannotá get the money they are actually entitled to.

It's been a tough couple of years.

Earlier this year, ian davis lost his wife sarona, a 32 year old mom and singer&..she died in surgery related to kidney problems in february& i miss everything about her.

Not a day, not a moment goes by that i don't think about her just for laughs, her joy for life& now davis, who had been caring for his wife full-time, is struggling to find work.

He's staying with family, along with his 5 year old son&.

In may, he thought he'd caught a break when a joint stimulus check for 24-hundred dollars arrived for him and sarona.

But when he went to the bank& what did they say to you?

Can't do anything because even with a death certificate, they said they couldn't do anything to cash it.

Ginny rebyak faced a similar problem: her husband died march 21st&possibly of covid-19.

She also got this joint check for herself and her husband that she also had trouble cashing at the bank&.

They said // we're going to freeze your husband's -- your late husband's $1200, because he's deceased and nobody knew what to do, and they still don't know what to do.

Why the confusion?

Jay mctigue oversees i-r-s audits at the government accountability office, and says when the stimulus checks first went out&..

Irs counsel made the initial legal determination that they could not stop payments to deceased individuals.

In its probe into the handling of the cares act, mctigue's agency found because of the way the law was written, anyone who filed a tax return in 2018 or 2019 was in fact entitled to that stimulus money, "even if they wer deceased at the time of payment."

So they initially said their own people said that you can't hold up this money to these people even though they're passed away.

.

That's our understanding.

So the i-r-s sent out some one- point-one million payments to deceased individuals - some of them, like this one, even had the letters d-e-c-d, for deceased, on them.

Then as word got out, on april 17th, reporters asked president trump what should happen to money sent to dead people&.

"we'll get tha back.

Everything we're going to get back."

A few weeks later on may 6th, the i-r-s changed course, saying on its website if payments went to someone who was dead, the money should be sent back.

So initially they made one determination.

Then midstream they flipped.

That's correct.

And with his wife's name on a single check for $2400, ian davis couldn't even cash it to get his own $1200 &..

And that just didn't make any sense to me.

So it's, it just kind of puts out people like me in limbo.

And i don't think that's fair to people who lost loved ones this year.

00:05:53 nina olson that's why people are in such a muddle.

They don't know what to do.

Nina olson is executive director of the nonprofit center for taxpayer rights&.

I am hearing more from people who are - they're stuck because they have a check in both names or they have a check in a decedent name.

// and so the banks will not let them cash the check.

Mctigue says people who are entitled to the money might get an adjustment but only on next year's tax return& right.

So they won't get this money till next year.

That's my understanding.

Which seems to run counter to the intention of why they sent this money out in the first place.

One could make that argument.

Meaning davis may wait another year for his money..

How helpful would that be for you right now?

It would be extremely helpful.

It all comes down to money.

Ginny rebyak eventually got her bank to free up her money, but she's not sure if the i-r-s will take some of it back next year.

The irs did not respond to questions specifically about this issue but in a general statement said it worked with 'unprecedented speed' to issue stimulus payments and that auditors found 98 percent of payments were correctly computed.

The agency also says all uncashed checks sent to deceased people, including individuals, have been cancelled.

Anna werner, cbs news, berkeley, california.

And a little later, at the helm of the army reserve.

A soldier makes history.

Mid morning will be right