COVID Vaccines: Mass Vaccination Site Opens At City College Of San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Officials in San Francisco announced Friday the opening of the city's first mass vaccination site at City College, as communities ramp up distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Currently, the site is appointment only and is following state prioritization criteria on who receives the vaccine. The site, which is operated in partnership with UCSF Health, will eventually have the capacity to vaccinate more than 3,000 people per day once fully operational.
"Large vaccination sites like this one at City College are going to be critical for getting people vaccinated quickly and safely, and getting our City on the road to recovery," Mayor London Breed said in a statement.
Patients were lined up in their vehicles outside the site at sunrise, ahead of the opening at 8 a.m. Larry Darcy, 80, was ready. "It's a privilege to be here," Darcy told KPIX 5.
To help speed things along, a team walking on foot checked in the vehicles upon arrival. Patients then pulled into the five acre lot and are directed into one of 23 stalls. Once parked, they are asked to roll up their sleeves.
The process of getting the shot takes about five minutes. Afterwards, patients must pull over to a separate waiting area for 15 minutes, where another team will monitor for any potential adverse reactions.
"I just hope everyone has the opportunity to get the shot as soon as they can. And I think with our new administration, that'll happen," Darcy said.
Sue Fahey, 77, said she was excited to receive her shot. "Well, after I get the second one then I'll really have peace of mind. But right now, I'll have sort of peace of mind," Fahey told KPIX 5.
Officials said as of Wednesday, the city's Department of Public Health has only received a quarter of the doses needed to vaccinate more than 210,000 people in the city who are eligible to receive the vaccine in Phase 1A of distribution, along with people 65 and older.
At a news conference on Friday, Breed said she is putting pressure on whomever she can to get doses quickly.
"Well I made it clear to the governor, there were some challenges that we were dealing with directly here in San Francisco. And disproportionately when you look at the data, we definitely should be receiving more vaccines, and we're not," the mayor said.
Once supply scales up, city officials said the site would be open to anyone who lives or works in San Francisco, regardless of their health coverage status or health provider.
City officials are slated to open two other mass vaccination sites in the coming weeks, at Moscone Center and the SF Market in the Bayview.
Residents and those who work in San Francisco can sign up to be notified when they are eligible to receive the shot at http://sf.gov/vaccinenotify.
