Moscone Center in San Francisco opened Friday for its first full day as a high-volume, mass COVID-19 vaccination hub.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Kaiser Permanente and a consortium of health care providers on Thursday announced the opening, took a tour of the site and even vaccinated a group of eligible residents as part of the launch event.
The hub will be open to Bay Area residents age 65 and older and health care workers, starting at 8 a.m. Friday, with appointments available on the state's MyTurn portal.
Moscone Center initially will carry a lower vaccination capacity due to limited supply, around 3,000 to 4,000 per day. But once supplies increase it is expected to administer between 7,000 and 10,000 vaccines a day, officials say. All vaccinations at the hub will be by appointment only for anyone eligible to receive the vaccine, regardless of health coverage.
“This major site will play a significant role in getting our city to a better place,” Breed said.
People are asked not to arrive early for their appointments due to social distancing guidelines.
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San Francisco earlier this week opened pop-up vaccination sites in the Mission and Bayview neighborhoods focused on residents of those communities who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Last month, the city opened a mass vaccination site at City College of San Francisco.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is holding an emergency meeting Thursday to hear Supervisor Matt Haney’s Vaccinate SF emergency ordinance.
The ordinance, introduced at last Tuesday’s board meeting, would require the San Francisco Department of Public Health to submit a written comprehensive public mass vaccination plan to reach all San Franciscans, share vaccination data by demographic, supply, provider and neighborhood information, and create a central portal for vaccine appointments.
The ordinance is co-sponsored by Supervisors Shamann Walton, Hillary Ronen, Gordon Mar, Dean Preston and Connie Chan.
