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As vaccine supplies remain inconsistent and inadequate, San Francisco officially entered Phase 1B of vaccine eligibility on Wednesday, allowing grocery and food service workers to be next alongside educators, caretakers, children, emergency service personnel and farm workers.
The Mayor of London Breed had previously announced February 24 as the start day for this next phase of eligibility, but that was before the city had to suspend two mass vaccination sites at City College and Moscone Center due to lack of vaccine supply. As Breed said on Twitter on Wednesday, “Supply and nominations remain very limited, but if you are now eligible, visit http://sf.gov/getvaccinated!”
It’s not entirely clear how grocery store and restaurant workers will need to prove their employment, and as Eater reported last week, the Golden Gate Restaurant Association is advocating for an honor system. Otherwise, as some workers are currently being laid off or on leave or may lack sufficient documentation, they say this “will only create more barriers to getting the vaccines” and “slow down the process”. Currently, sites like the City College site, operated by UCSF, require an online signature certifying eligibility, and then documents brought in person such as a pay stub, worker badge, or other unspecified means of verification. prove his job.
Food service workers have been prioritized in other cities like New York, but according to CDC guidelines, they would actually fall into Phase 1C. Here in San Francisco, it will hopefully help restaurants continue to safely reopen – and as indoor dining resumes, perhaps from next week, vaccinations will help protect servers who are more at risk of catching the coronavirus than customers because of their volume of exposure. to strangers. (We know of at least one story of an International Smoke server who believes they contracted the virus during the brief period that indoor dining was allowed last fall.)
The city of Berkeley opened up vaccines to grocery store workers last week, but Alameda County restaurant workers have to go to the Oakland Coliseum to get the shot.
“Getting the people who live and work in San Francisco vaccinated as quickly as possible will help keep our entire community safe and save lives,” Breed said in a statement. “We’ve been dealing with this pandemic for a year now, and throughout that time our workforce has kept the city going.”
“From grocery store clerks, child care providers and teachers, to emergency workers and restaurant cooks and waiters, these frontline workers have come forward for all of us, and I’m glad that we can move forward with expanding vaccine eligibility to include them. “
San Francisco has three mass vaccination sites ready to go, including the latest to open in the Bayview Wholesale Market, and the city is ready to start vaccinating 10,000 people a day once vaccine stocks have been completed. caught up. Additionally, on the city’s list of vaccination sites, the Oakland Coliseum site operated by FEMA is listed, so eligible workers may also want to check there through MyTurn.ca.gov.
Breed said that as of Wednesday, the city had vaccinated 80% of all seniors and healthcare workers who are in phase 1A, and now 18% of all San Franciscans over the age of 16 have received their first doses. . Phase 1A is estimated to represent around 210,000 people and include healthcare workers who work in San Francisco but live elsewhere in the Bay Area.
The latter group in Phase 1B is estimated to be 168,000 more people living or working in San Francisco.
As of March 15, the state of California said eligibility would be open to people of any age with disabilities or those with any of the ten underlying chronic conditions, including pregnancy, diabetes, type 2, cancer, severe obesity, kidney disease. and chronic lung disease.
The Moscone Center vaccination site is set to reopen for appointments on Thursday, and the Department of Public Health has also opened two walk-in vaccination sites for the elderly where no appointment is required – one to SF General and one at Southeast Health.
On Tuesday, San Francisco remained in the “Violet” level for reopening according to state measures, but that was confusing for many, as the city’s COVID numbers have steadily declined – and are not worse than those in the counties of San Mateo or Marin, which went to “Red” level yesterday. But out of caution or the oddity of the state’s algorithm, the city will likely wait until next Tuesday to reopen restaurants and museums at 25% capacity and indoor gymnasiums at 10% capacity. The other six Bay Area counties could also enter the less restrictive “Red” level next week or soon after.
Previously: San Francisco plans to prioritize restaurant owner vaccines; East Bay grocery store workers start getting vaccinated
Photo: Michael Browning
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