The Mayor of San Francisco of the London breed and the Director of Public Health, Dr. Grant Colfax, were optimistic at their weekly pandemic press conference, again this week, focusing mainly on the vaccine distribution process as it is. But Colfax warned that it will be at least another week or two before we have a better picture of the impact of meetings and holiday trips over Christmas and New Year.
As he did last week, Dr. Colfax continued to report an apparent leveling up of cases and hospitalizations in the city, although he emphasized that “we will not know until mid-January” whether there will be a further increase due to the holiday. San Francisco currently has 35% of the capacity available in intensive care units (ICU), compared to just 5.9% in the Bay Area region – and until the regional average increases above 15% of capacity, the order of stay at home determined by the state not to be lifted.
Colfax clarified that one of the reasons for more hospital capacity in San Francisco may have to do with seasonal falls in things like elective surgery.
Breed and Colfax discussed vaccine implementation at Laguna Honda Hospital and elsewhere in the city, and Breed brought Dr. Joshua Adler from UCSF to discuss how vaccines are being distributed there. Dr. Adler said that UCSF is vaccinating 1,100 people a day and hopes to increase that number in the coming weeks – with healthcare professionals being the first in line for vaccination. He also said that, so far, vaccine shipments from manufacturers have kept pace with the pace that UCSF has been able to vaccinate people.
Dr. Colfax said the Department of Public Health has vaccinated about 6,000 people so far between Zuckerberg SF General Hospital, Laguna Honda, and other locations in the city system. In Laguna Honda, home to more than 700 elderly and infirm patients, vaccines began to be administered on Monday and the first round of doses should be complete for all residents who want them by Wednesday.
Breed shared some photos of Laguna Honda residents receiving their vaccinations, including the photo above, by Jasper Harris. “He had to deal with isolation and separation [in this pandemic]”Said Breed.” Thanks to the Laguna Honda team, he is alive and well, and can receive the vaccine. “
Although it may take months for widespread vaccinations to be taking place across the city, with demand now outstripping supply, Dr. Colfax said: “We hope everyone who wants a vaccine gets it, and we will work together … do this to happen. “
Once the city has completed Phase 1A of the distribution process, Phase 1B will begin, with the state dictating which groups will be next in line for vaccines. This phase will likely include people over 75, as well as educators and key frontline employees, such as supermarket employees.
As of Tuesday, San Francisco had 24,564 cumulative and documented cases of COVID-19 and 198 people died – four added since Monday. The new daily case count today was 156, but Colfax discussed a daily average of just over 200, or about 27 new cases per day for 100,000 residents. This represents 6 new cases per 100,000 at the end of October and 15 a day at the end of November, as shown in a chart that Colfax shared last week.
See today’s full briefing below.
Previously: Colfax looks more excited when presenting the latest COVID update of 2020, discusses SF Outlook
Top image: Medical team working in an ICU in Houston, Texas, in early December. Go Nakamura photo / Getty Images