The city of San Francisco and its health care providers announced a goal on Wednesday to vaccinate all residents by early summer.
“Working with our key health care partners and other community clinics, our goal by June 30 is to have our entire population of more than 900,000 individuals in San Francisco vaccinated against COVID-19,” said Roland Pickens, director of the San Francisco Health Network, the city’s public health system, in a supervisory hearing on Wednesday. “As you can imagine, there will be many twists and turns on the way, but we are confident that once the vaccine supply is more readily available and reliable, we will be able to achieve that goal based on our current planning and collaboration.”
This is an ambitious goal amid a national vaccination effort that has been plagued by problems, especially the scarcity of supply and the lack of infrastructure to administer the vaccine.
To meet that goal, the Department of Public Health said it needs to double or triple its vaccination rate to 10,000 a day. The city is preparing to open several vaccine sites as supply increases. Plans are underway for mass vaccination sites at Moscone Center, City College and SF Market, as well as for smaller community sites in poor neighborhoods.
“The main obstacle we face is not enough doses,” said Pickens. “You can only do it one way; you get it for free and from the federal government. “
Reina Lopez, left, UCSF Hospitality Services patient support assistant, receives COVID-19 vaccine from Matthew Aludino, a fourth-year student at the School of Pharmacy, one of the first to receive the inoculation, in a clinic at the Hospital Edifício de Ciências on the Parnassus Heights campus.
UCSF / Maurice RamirezUCSF epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford called the city’s goal “aspirational” amid the current situation where vaccine supplies are in short supply, but he expects the situation to improve in the coming weeks.
“I suspect things are really going to accelerate here soon,” wrote Rutherford, professor of epidemiology and head of UCSF’s infectious disease and global epidemiology division, in an email.
As of this week, the city (both health providers and the Department of Public Health) has received about 103,000 doses. There are more than 210,000 people currently eligible in San Francisco in Phase 1a (which includes healthcare professionals) and people over 65, and each needs two doses, resulting in the need for 420,000 doses, according to the department.
San Francisco announced its June 30 goal after Mayor London Breed said at a news conference on Tuesday that the health department was in the process of running out of its quota of COVID-19 vaccine today. This does not include vaccines that healthcare professionals have at hand. Breed said any remaining vaccines are reserved for those who have already received a first scheduled dose or who need a second.
The department is currently in charge of vaccinating workers at the General Hospital Zuckerberg San Francisco, paramedics and other frontline workers, as well as those aged 65 and over within the San Francisco Health Network, which serves the most vulnerable people in the including uninsured patients.
“It really shows that while we are making progress, we simply need more vaccines,” said Breed.
California and other states in the country are struggling to meet the challenge of vaccinating all those awaiting inoculation. Authorities are pinning their hopes on President Joe Biden’s promise to increase resources for vaccination. There is hope that the state’s vaccination rate will increase.
“Under the Biden government, our country has a chance to fight this virus,” said California state senator Scott Wiener on Wednesday.
A recent hurdle at launch was the suspension of injections of a batch of Moderna vaccine after some people fell ill.
California said on Wednesday that it is safe to resume using the vaccine, releasing more than 300,000 doses to counties, cities and hospitals struggling to get supplies.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.