SAN FRANCISCO (NewsNation Now) — The San Francisco Health Department says the COVID-19 vaccine supply has been limited, inconsistent, and unpredictable, making vaccine roll out difficult.
The state has administered nearly 5.8 million vaccine doses to date. Throughout the state, mass vaccination centers have opened but they aren’t operating close to full capacity because of vaccine shortages.
The Moscone Center and City College mass vaccination sites helped San Francisco County distribute 7,400 doses over the last week. As of last week, 47% of the 65 and older population in the county has been vaccinated.
The city has the ability to administer 10,000 vaccines a day, officials told NewsNation affiliate KRON. But the lack of supply is not allowing that to happen.
As of Monday morning, the Moscone site will pause for one week and will reopen once supply is sufficient to resume operations.
The City College high volume site will reopen Friday but only for people who need second doses. A third high volume site will launch this week but with available appointments far below full capacity.
No existing appointments were canceled; spots are only released for booking once the vaccine supply is confirmed.
I’m frustrated because we’ve shown that SF can administer shots as soon as they come in,” Mayor London Breed said on social media. “We’re hoping for more info in the next few days. We’ll maintain enough doses to ensure second shots for people on schedule.”
Many cities and counties in California are asking for more vaccine, saying they have the ability to deliver it to residents.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he knows they can. Nearly 6 million doses have been administered throughout California. The state is receiving roughly 1 million doses a week, with a significant share reserved for second shots, Newsom said.
“Supply is the issue. That’s the constraint,” Newsom said last week. “So when you ask me, ‘what are we doing to vaccinate this group, that group, what about this group,’ it’s an issue now of scarcity, it’s an issue of supply.”
On Tuesday, two new large-scale vaccination sites will open in Oakland and in East Los Angeles as part of a partnership between the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The federal government will supply the vaccine, which could be as many as 6,000 shots a day at each location.
The locations were picked with an eye toward equity, said Newsom, and slots will be reserved for people in surrounding areas. Residents can use My Turn, a new statewide tool, to register and make appointments.
California is emerging from its worst stage of the pandemic. New virus cases and hospitalizations have fallen dramatically in the past three weeks, and deaths that topped 3,500 a week also have started to decline, though more slowly.
