Despite limited dose supply, SF plans three large-scale vaccination sites

San Francisco plans to open three large-scale Covid-19 vaccination sites, officials announced Friday.

Mayor London Breed said the sites will be located at the City College of San Francisco’s main campus, Moscone Center in the South of Market neighborhood and at the San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market in the Bayview District.

Breed said the site launches are dependent on vaccine supply shipped to the Department of Public Health and partnered health care providers, such Kaiser Permanente, Dignity Health, Sutter Health and University of California at San Francisco.

Once open, the mayor said the goal is to vaccinate 10,000 people each day, adding:

“The locations are not the problem. It’s the supply. If that supply significantly increases, our facilities will be ready to exceed this goal and handle as much vaccine as we received from the state and federal government.”

Breed said The City is working with providers to creating a network of small and large vaccination sites citywide:

“The key to this network is that we will work with our private providers to provide easy access and meet people where they are.”

Despite current dose limitations, she assured that officials have a plan in place as more arrive.

Depending on supplies received from the state, Dr. Grant Colfax, director of the Department of Public Health, said he hopes the first large-scale site will open at City College by the end of next week.

Colfax said the number of vaccines coming into the DPH has varied widely. The department received 11,000 doses several weeks ago from the state but was told they would receive just 1,700 doses next week.

Federal officials now say a stockpile reserved for second doses no longer exists, backtracking from earlier statements that stockpile supplies would be released Friday.

Both the mayor and Colfax assured The City is not sitting on any doses, that all received so far have either been administered or are already committed to eligible people.

The City continues to vaccinate its frontline health care workers as part of the state’s Phase 1A guidelines. Breed explained that the county has a large health care system with dozens of hospital networks and an estimated 80,000 to 90,000 workers.

She said DPH is now starting to vaccinate residents aged 65 and older who are part of The City’s health network.

Officials announced a new website, www.sf.gov/vaccinenotify, where people can sign up to receive eligibility notifications beginning Tuesday.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.