SF opens community vaccination site on 24th and Capp streets

A second outdoor vaccination site was opened in San Francisco, this one in the Mission District, with the aim of increasing equity in the distribution of the vaccine in one of the communities most affected by the pandemic.

After the smooth launch of the drive-through mass vaccination site at City College ten days ago, the city of San Francisco opened a smaller-scale community vaccination site in a parking lot one block from the BART station on 24th and Mission streets that has capacity to vaccinate 400 people per day. To start, as reported by the Local Mission, the site plans to distribute 120 doses a day, as part of its soft launch, and will do so during a limited time: 9 am to 2 pm, from Sunday to Wednesday.

Increasing to 400 vaccinations a day will depend on vaccine supplies and, potentially, more hours of operation.

The outdoor installation is the result of a partnership between UCSF, the Latin Task Force and the SF Department of Public Health, which also partnered to host pop-up test sites in this neighborhood last year. The current test site at the 24th Street BART station plaza, run by Unidos en Salud, also operates four days a week, as noted by the Chronicle.

“COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted our Latin community, which is why it is so important that we are taking these vaccines directly to neighborhoods that have been hit so hard,” said Mayor London Breed in a statement announcing the launch of the website.

“We are ready to administer 10,000 doses per day [across the city], but to ensure equitable distribution it is necessary to know the people where they are, especially in the communities that have been hardest hit, “said Breed on Twitter, adding that more vaccination sites like this will be opened in Visitacion Valley, Bayview and elsewhere.

“Today is an important milestone in our fight to combat COVID-19 and it is because of our collective partnership and mutual trust that we can bring vaccines directly to a population that has been painful and disproportionately impacted by this pandemic,” said Jon Jacobo, chairman of the Latin Task Force Health Committee, in a statement.

The interest in being vaccinated is very strong in the neighborhood of Mission, as well as in much of San Francisco. Dr. Diane Havlir, professor of medicine at UCSF and co-founder of this collaboration with the Latin Task Force, told the Chronicle: “We asked more than 5,000 adults who came for the test last month at 24th Street BART plaza, and 86 percent said they were open to be vaccinated. “

Currently, as at other test sites, vaccines are being administered only to health professionals and residents over 65, and their health professionals only at this location Monday and Tuesday. Things are being handled only by appointment, and qualified people should check with their local health care provider or clinic about scheduling.

Previously: Temporary opening of the mass vaccination site at City College – Walk-ups are not allowed