San Francisco, CA — San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed and a consortium of health care organizations today announced that a high-volume COVID-19 vaccination site will open in the Moscone Center on Friday, February 5. The site will initially serve health care workers and community members ages 65 and older, by appointment only and in accordance with the State’s prioritization plan. The site will eventually allow for vaccinations on a broad scale and at a dynamic pace once adequate vaccine supply is received from the state.

The Moscone Center vaccination site is part of a collaborative effort between the City and County of San Francisco and the San Francisco Department of Public Health partnering with a consortium of statewide health care organizations: Kaiser Permanente, Adventist Health, the California Medical Association, CommonSpirit/Dignity, and Futuro Health. The California Primary Care Association will also participate in this effort to ensure broad, equitable access to the sites. 

The Moscone Center’s spacious and accessible location is part of a network of high-volume vaccination sites organized by the City and County of San Francisco and health care providers. The consortium will enable partnering health care organizations to leverage resources and staff, align operations for efficient and safe vaccine delivery, and offer convenient parking for patients if needed.

“We are working every day to set up systems to get people vaccinated as soon as we have the supply,” said Mayor Breed. “I’m thankful to Kaiser Permanente for organizing this consortium, which is working with us to expand our vaccine network through this initiative at Moscone Center. As vaccines come to our city, whether it’s through our Department of Public Health or our private health care partners, we need to do everything we can to move it quickly and efficiently. I know the consortium members have the experience, clinical expertise, and resources to help us reduce barriers to vaccine access and broaden opportunity for equitable, optimal health and well-being throughout San Francisco.”

“We thank the State for making additional vaccine supply available, so we can help open this high-volume vaccination site and at the same time expand our ability to provide vaccine to our members,” said Carrie Owen Plietz, regional president for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. “The success of this site will depend on receiving additional vaccine in the coming weeks. As we receive more vaccine, we can continue to get it in the arms of our members and the public, at our medical centers and at sites like this.”

The high-volume vaccination site at Moscone Center will open Friday at a lower vaccination capacity due to limited vaccine supply. All vaccinations will be by appointment only on the state’s MyTurn website for anyone eligible to receive the vaccine regardless of health coverage. Once adequate supply of vaccine is distributed by the state of California, the Moscone Center site will be able to administer 7,000 to 10,000 COVID-19 vaccinations per day, depending on supply. Hours of vaccination will initially be limited but will ramp up and be available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. 

“This high-volume vaccination site is made possible because of the strong partnership between Kaiser Permanente, the consortium, and the City and County of San Francisco. Together, we can leverage the strengths of both organizations to establish a site that has the capacity, the staff, the infrastructure, and the community support to help protect those who live and work in the City by vaccinating as many people as fast as possible,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, Director of Public Health. “These partnerships with health care providers are key to meeting our goal of vaccinating everyone who lives or works in San Francisco in order to help bring an end to this pandemic.”

The City has created a new webpage for people who live and work in San Francisco to find vaccination sites in San Francisco, including the new Moscone Center site, and book appointments. People who are eligible to be vaccinated can sign-up for an appointment at: SF.gov/getvaccinated. For more information on eligibility and how to make a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at the Moscone Center, go to SF.gov/getvaccinated or the MyTurn website.

About the City of San Francisco’s Network of Vaccination Sites

The Moscone Center site advances the City’s vaccination strategy to make receiving the vaccine as convenient and comfortable as possible for as many people as possible. High-volume vaccination sites, like Moscone Center, are one critical piece of a larger network of vaccination distribution that also includes neighborhood vaccine access sites, community clinics, pharmacy partnerships, and mobile vaccination teams. Once the vaccine locations are fully operational, pending vaccine supply, the City has a goal of facilitating over 10,000 vaccine doses per day.

On January 22, the City opened the first high-volume vaccination site at the City College of San Francisco and has a plan to open a third high-volume site at the SF Market in the Bayview. The City College site has the capacity to serve as many as 3,000 people per day when supply increases. These high-volume sites will serve anyone eligible to receive the vaccine regardless of health coverage and all require that patients make an appointment.

On Monday, February 1, the first neighborhood vaccine access site opened in the Mission District at 24th and Capp Streets. Neighborhood vaccine access sites are part of the City’s targeted efforts to ensure communities most highly-impacted by COVID-19 receive equitable access to the vaccine. The site will have an initial capacity of 120 vaccinations per day and, when vaccine capacity increases, this site may expand to conduct 200-400 vaccinations per day. The 24th Street site has the additional benefit of being adjacent to a significant transit hub, ensuring that it is accessible and convenient for the community health workers and other eligible people that it will serve.

The City is working to expand neighborhood vaccine access sites to the Bayview, Excelsior, Visitacion Valley and other neighborhoods with the highest infection rates for COVID-19 and limited access to health care services. The Department of Public Health and its community partners continue to vaccinate people through community clinics in the Western Addition, Chinatown, Bayview, Outer Sunset, and Potrero. For example, on Tuesday, February 2, the Department of Public Health expanded vaccination services at the Southeast Health Center for people who are 65 years or older and live in one of two highly COVID-impacted zip codes in the southeastern part of the city that include Bayview Hunters Point and Visitacion Valley. Additionally, the City is partnering with Safeway pharmacies to bring vaccines to various neighborhoods, including a new site at San Francisco State University.

About the Consortium

The consortium, initiated by Kaiser Permanente, includes Adventist Health, the California Medical Association, Dignity Health, and Futuro Health. California Primary Care Association will also be working with the consortium to ensure broad equitable access to the sites.

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