The Department of Public Health and COVID Command Center announced today that, the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and Moscone Center South high-volume vaccination sites will close on June 26 and July 14, respectively. Vaccinations will continue to be widely available through a network of low-barrier neighborhood sites, mobile access points, clinics, and pharmacies to meet existing demand and better align with the current prevalence of COVID in the community.
“San Francisco had led the nation in our vaccine rollout with 81% of our eligible residents having received at least a first dose,” said Mayor London N. Breed. “Mass vaccination sites were an important part of the distribution network that made that possible, but we’re now at a point where vaccines continue to be widely available and we’re instead focusing on getting to residents who are harder to reach or may have challenges getting to one of our many vaccination sites. We’re going to keep doing everything we can to reach each and every San Franciscan.”
San Francisco has been a national and global model in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Well before the federal government approved vaccines for widespread use, the city developed a robust, low- barrier vaccine distribution system to facilitate vaccination with a focus on ensuring access to communities disproportionally affected by COVID-19. The vaccine has been offered through a network of high-volume vaccination sites, community access sites - in partnership with trusted community organizations-, mobile vaccination teams, and pharmacies.
These efforts have paid off. Currently, 81% of eligible San Francisco residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with 72% of eligible San Franciscans fully vaccinated. Furthermore, 91% of all residents 65 and older have received at least one dose. SF's vaccination rates are among the highest in the nation and the world.
Additionally, the effectiveness and availability of COVID-19 vaccines have dramatically driven down case rates, hospitalizations and community spread in San Francisco. The 7-day average number of new cases in San Francisco declined by 97% since January; from 373 to 10 as of June 15. Hospitalizations have been at their lowest numbers for the past month since the pandemic began and testing positivity is 0.45%, down from 5.36% since the last peak in January and 13.46% in April of 2020.
“Being the first major city in the nation to reach over 80% of eligible residents with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is a testament to the hard work of our residents, community partners, and public health professionals who stood up sites like City College. While we celebrate this success, we have more work to do, especially in light of new variants of the virus. We are laser-focused on ramping up vaccine opportunities in hard-hit neighborhoods with robust citywide vaccination initiatives that include low barrier drop-in appointments, going door-to-door, hosting family day events, and providing mobile vaccination drives to serve people with challenges to vaccine access,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, Director of Health. “We thank UCSF for their partnership in standing up this site and helping to keep our communities safe.”
“San Francisco was in a very different place in January when City College opened up as SF's first mass vaccine site during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mary Ellen Carroll, Executive Director for the Department of Emergency Management. “Today, the majority of eligible San Franciscans have received vaccinations because of our ability to quickly and efficiently open sites across San Francisco. While our work continues, I want to give credit to the team of public servants who worked tirelessly to ensure every San Franciscan has opportunity to receive this life saving measure.”
Launched in January, the CCSF vaccination site - located on City College’s main campus on Frida Kahlo Way - was the first to open in San Francisco and UCSF has since administered more than 111,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at this location. The Moscone Center and the SF Market in the Bayview opened in February; the latter ceased operations on June 11.
Following the June 26 closure, eligible residents who got their first dose at the CCSF site can get their second at other neighborhood sites. Schedule second doses at other sites in partnership with UCSF
The high-volume sites have proven to be extremely successful as San Francisco became the first major city in the nation to reach 80% rate in first-dose vaccinations. Moving forward, the city will continue to provide low-barrier vaccine access at San Francisco Health Network and SF Community Clinic Consortium clinics, pharmacies, neighborhood sites, and at community events.
Additionally, mobile vaccination operations will carry on for people experiencing homelessness, people who are homebound, and residents at senior housing.
Planning is underway by the Department of Public Health and the COVID Command Center to ensure access to vaccines for youth under 11 years old when they become eligible.
“UCSF is proud to have contributed to the vaccination of residents of San Francisco and surrounding communities,” said Sheila Antrum, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at UCSF Health. “From the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the leadership of San Francisco, in conjunction with the San Francisco Department of Public Health, has placed San Francisco at the forefront nationwide of major cities in rapidly rolling out the vaccines. UCSF is glad to have played a role in the public health response to the crisis, and we look forward to continuing to work with the City and County of San Francisco to reach neighborhoods and residents still awaiting the vaccine.”
Please visit sf.gov/getvaccinated or call 628-652-2700 for vaccination information and sites. You can also drop into an upcoming vaccination event.