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San Francisco opened its first neighborhood coronavirus vaccination site in the Mission District on Monday, with plans to open a second in Bayview in the coming days.
In a parking lot at the corner of 24th and Capp Streets, city and state officials cheered as leaders of two Latin American nonprofits that have served the community throughout the pandemic received the first shots. The Mission site is part of a growing network of immunization clinics that offer hope for an end to the pandemic, city leaders said, even as San Francisco struggles with a limited supply of vaccines.
“I am really excited today,” said the Mayor of London Breed. “Now, finally, we are in a decent place. No, it’s not perfect. No, we have not been able to address the disparity that persists, even though we have invested over $ 26 million to help provide additional resources. But there is still a lot to do.
“We know this is the best chance we have to come back to the life we know and miss,” she said.
The new location targets a community that has been disproportionately affected by the virus. Latinos in San Francisco account for more than 42% of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the city, although they make up only 15% of the population, according to the most recent public health data. They also account for over 20% of deaths from the disease.
The Mission site currently operates by invitation, appointment only, serving community health workers and local residents over 65 within the Unidos en Salud / United in Health network.
San Francisco continues to prioritize healthcare workers, home support staff, and long-term care residents in the rollout of immunization. So far 104,000 out of 210,000 people in this first-phase group have received a dose, chief health officer Dr Grant Colfax said on Monday.
Demand for the vaccine in San Francisco continues to far outstrip supply from the state and federal government. San Francisco has the infrastructure in place to deliver 10,000 vaccines per day, but only receives about 11,000 per week, Colfax said.
Breed said San Francisco has so far received 150,000 doses of the vaccine and issued more than 90,000. The rest are scheduled for second doses.
“We are still slow in terms of the number of vaccines we receive. We expect this to increase a bit with the President’s move to get more vaccines faster, ”Breed said, adding that she has been“ very aggressive ”with the governor to get more for San Francisco.
State Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, said Monday there had been “a lot of frustration” about the slow start of the vaccine rollout in California.
“It’s changing and it’s starting to accelerate, it’s going to continue to accelerate,” he said. “These vaccines will save our planet from this pandemic.”
The ramp-up of the new site in the mission district depends on supply. During a phased launch period, the health department said the site will administer around 120 vaccines per day. The site can increase up to 400 vaccinations per day as the supply increases.
The location was intentional to mitigate the devastating effects of the virus in the Latin American community.
“It took the whole barrio to deal with this pandemic,” said Roberto Hernandez, co-founder of the Latino Task Force. “A lot of the people we work with are the most vulnerable, the hardest working, minimum wage, they have no health insurance, no 401K or retirement savings. They are more injured than you can imagine.
The Mission District site opened at 9 a.m. for the first meeting. At 10 a.m., Jose Ortiz, a family support specialist at the nonprofit Casa Corazon, had received his first dose. The 43-year-old was eligible as a community health worker, site organizers said, as he works closely with affected families both in person and remotely.
Ortiz said everyone in his community knows at least one person who has fallen ill or has died from the virus.
“When you work with people all the time, you have to protect yourself and your family, as well as their families,” he said. Placing a clinic at the heart of the mission is very important, so that everyone can see and go.
The new clinic will operate in conjunction with a coronavirus testing site at BART plaza on 24th and Mission streets, which operates four days a week. The privately funded immunization clinic grew out of Unidos en Salud, a collaboration between UCSF and the Latino task force that managed testing sites in the mission.
“We know that the interest in getting the vaccine is very high in the community,” said Dr. Diane Havlir, professor of medicine at UCSF and co-founder of the collaboration. “We asked over 5,000 adults who came for testing last month at BART Square on 24th Street, and 86% said they were ready to get the shot.
The Department of Public Health has said it hopes to establish neighborhood vaccination sites in Bayview, Excelsior, Visitacion Valley and other neighborhoods with the highest infection rates for COVID-19. The city is also partnering with Safeway pharmacies to bring vaccines to various neighborhoods.
“It’s a community that never stands aside and lets anyone fall by the wayside,” said supervisor Hillary Ronen, who represents the mission. “Hang on, San Franciscans. We’re almost out of it and we can make it to the end together.
Mallory Moench and Aidin Vaziri are editors of the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: mallory @ moench @ sfchronicle.com [email protected] Twitter: @mallorymoench
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