COVID Vaccines: San Francisco's Moscone Center Vaccination Site Resumes Operations
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5)-- One of San Francisco's three mass vaccination sites reopened Thursday after being shut down for 10 days due to ongoing COVID vaccine supply issues.
The Moscone Center site was busy when it reopened at 11 a.m., but the lines outside were orderly and moved quickly. Each cordoned-off section was designated for appointments scheduled for every 15 minutes.
Despite being closed for 10 days, the site resumed operations without missing a beat. Staff was distributing 4,000 doses a day before they closed. They are aiming to hit that same number right out of the gate.
San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney told KPIX 5 the Moscone site now has enough doses on hand to keep operating at the pace of 4,000 a day for the next two weeks.
The site has the capacity to administer up to 10,000 doses per day. Haney has been lobbying the Governor Gavin Newsom, Kaiser, the Department of Emergency Management and anyone who will listen to send more doses.
"My message here is this site is working. There's no scandal; there's no, 'This particular provider did the wrong people, it was a bad experience,'" said Haney. "This has had nothing but positive reviews. They can do twice the number they were doing before they had to shut down. So giving more [vaccine doses] to this site is a win-win for everyone."
On Wednesday, San Francisco moved into Phase 1B for vaccinations, expanding eligibility to include educators and child care workers, emergency services workers, and food and agricultural workers. That eligibility applies to people who live or work in the city.
Moving into Phase 1B of vaccine distribution adds more than 168,000 individuals to those who were already qualified to receive a shot.
On Friday, the site is scheduled to resume normal operating hours, opening at 8 a.m. and closing at 6 p.m. Anyone who qualifies can book an appointment at sf.gov/getvaccinated
