San Francisco will temporarily pause mass vaccination

by

The San Francisco Department of Public Health said it will close its two high-volume COVID-19 vaccination sites over the next few days for a “limited, inconsistent and unpredictable” supply.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – FEBRUARY 4: Irene Villa, 72, receives a COVID-19 vaccine from Kaiser Permanente San Francisco’s deputy director of nursing, Jamie Rant, during a press conference announcing the opening of a large-scale mass vaccination center at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, February 4, 2021. (Anda Chu / Bay Area News Group)

In a statement Sunday, officials said city sites at Moscone Center and City College of San Francisco had increased the supply of vaccines by the department, pharmacies and medical service providers to an average of 7,400 doses. during the last seven days.

These figures helped increase the percentage of the city’s population over the age of 65 to receive a vaccine from 31% early last week to 47%.

But declining supply is forcing tough decisions, including closing the city’s Moscone Center site for a week. This site, run in collaboration with Kaiser Permanente, Adventist Health, the California Medical Association, Dignity Health, Futuro Health, and the California Primary Care Association, will reopen when enough vaccines arrive to resume efforts.

The City College site will be paused this week before reopening on Friday, but only to provide two doses. A third high-volume venue at SF Market, in the city’s Bayview neighborhood, is still expected to open later this week, managing scheduled appointments without cancellation, but limiting other available appointments, reserving them only with the confirmed vaccine supply.

Martin Auzenne, 73, on the left, receives a vaccine against COVID-19 from a health worker at a vaccination site in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco on Monday, February 8, 2021. (Photo AP / Haven Daley) Haven Daley / Associated Press

“The supply of vaccines to San Francisco health care providers and the Department of Public Health (DPH) is limited, inconsistent and unpredictable, making it difficult to launch the vaccine and denying Franciscans this life-saving intervention,” they said. Sunday partly officials.

According to the city’s health department, the city has administered more than 190,000 of 262,000 doses to city and region residents, and plans to use the remaining supply for the first and second scheduled doses.

.Source