Mayor London Breed said on Tuesday that San Francisco’s vaccination would be dry by the end of this week if the city does not receive any new shipments.
The city could have no vaccines by Thursday, Breed said. It would affect people who would get the vaccine through the city; private providers have a separate offering, and Breed added that the supply constraint for the city ‘should not have a significant impact’ on plans to open a vaccination center at City College soon.
Dr Grant Colfax, the city’s chief health officer in the city, said the city had received 8,000 doses of the Moderna lot that the state advised not to be administered while studying further, after a spate of allergic reactions the premises in Petco Park in San Diego.
“We stopped those out of an abundance of caution,” he said. “We have not received any replacement doses.” Last week, the city received a total of 12,000 doses. This week only 1,775. “This unreliable source makes it difficult to plan.”
San Francisco’s supply crisis is indicative of what health officials in the city and across the state have been saying for weeks: there are not enough vaccines to keep up with the demand for public health.
The entire health care system in San Francisco received 102,825 doses of the vaccine as of Tuesday, Breed said. But it is supposed to count as both the first and second doses. There are approximately 210,000 people in San Francisco who are eligible for the vaccine under the first tier of California’s vaccine distribution system.
“As we make progress, we simply need more vaccinations,” Breed said Tuesday.
Overall, 28,501 San Franciscans received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 6,347 received two doses.
“We will be ready to vaccinate 10,000 people a day,” Colfax said. ‘But our challenge right now is the lack of vaccine. The vaccine supply (Department of Public Health) will be depleted by Thursday. ‘
Asked when San Francisco’s home order could end, Colfax said: ‘We have some hopeful signs regarding the decline of the case and the hospitalization that is starting to level off. … If the trend continues, I expect we will move beyond the state’s home order. The trend is in a positive direction … This is not the time to wait. ‘
Commenting on the new variant, Colfax said: “It is likely to be more contagious.” But there is no need to panic, and people must follow standard public safety protocols.
Michael Williams is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected]