As President Biden promises to deliver 100 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine in his first 100 days in office, some Bay Area counties are following suit with their own ambitious goals to vaccinate as many residents as possible by summer.
San Francisco on Friday launched its first mass vaccination site at City College of San Francisco’s Ocean Avenue campus, in what the city's COVID Command Center is calling a "soft launch." The city, in partnership with several health care providers, planned on administering about 500 vaccines to start before ramping up.
Two other sites, at Moscone Center and The SF Market, south of Potrero Hill, are expected to open around the beginning of February.
Pending supply, officials hope to eventually vaccinate 10,000 people a day, with the goal of reaching most San Franciscans by the end of June.
Residents can sign up on a city website to get notified when they're eligible for a vaccine appointment.
Contra Costa County health officials announced Friday they want to administer a million doses of the vaccine by Independence Day.
“If we get those million doses out, we will be in a very different situation come July 4 then we are in now, and we will be able to feel very confident in moving forward,” said Anna Roth, the director of Contra Costa Health Services.
Diane Burgis, chair of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, said in a statement, “We believe this is a realistic goal, provided our supply of vaccine increases.”
Nearly 55,000 Contra Costa County residents have received their first dose of the vaccine, and 10,000 have received both doses.
The county is prioritizing residents 75 and older, but health officials are encouraging people over 65 to begin registering for appointments on the county’s website.
Santa Clara County also opened a new mass vaccination site at the Mountain View Community Center, on Rengstorff Avenue.
“We don't have a month to lose. We don't have a week to lose,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, whose district includes Mountain View. “We don't have a single day to lose. We just can't afford to let time go by. It's very gratifying to know that we are up and running and that in short order will be a thousand vaccinations a day at just this site."
The community center site will offer vaccinations by appointment only, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday, working up to 1,000 vaccinations per day.
The county and health care providers are offering vaccinations to health care workers, long-term care facility residents and people over 74.
You can find links to schedule an appointment in Santa Clara County under the "Who is Currently Eligible to be Vaccinated" section of the county's vaccine information page.