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COVID vaccine still in short supply across CA as COVID surge recedes
KTVU's Rob Roth reports.
SAN FRANCISCO - California's top health leader said based on recent models it appears the state is coming out of its latest COVID surge.
He said on the flip side, vaccine doses are in short supply.
At a mass vaccination site in the parking lot of San Francisco City College, only 500 people received their vaccine shots. But the city had hoped to administer at least 3,000 shots a day.
"The reason we are not doing that is vaccine supply. Because of the erratic and unpredictable supply that we are getting in San Francisco. We are unable to meet that full capacity and full potential here today as well as the past week," said Deputy Director for the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, Adrienne Bechelli.
It's the same complaint from counties, health care providers, and those eligible for a vaccine but can't get one.
"We are trying our best to be patient. However, it's really tough when you have all these folks in San Francisco who are eligible to be vaccinated but are unable to be vaccinated because we don't have the supply," said Bechelli.
At a briefing Tuesday, California's top health official said 3.5 million vaccine doses have been administered so far. The population of California is about 40 million.
"The supply of vaccine we acknowledge, that is going to be our rate-limiting step," said Secretary of California Health and Human Services Dr. Mark Ghaly. He did not offer any timeline for improvements in vaccine supply.
"We always hope for more. We continue to work with the federal administration to push for more. So that will be one of our biggest challenges," he said.
Another big challenge could be the California variant of the virus. Ghaly said it's too soon to know what effect it will ultimately have, but researchers are studying its patterns.
"Those that are more infectious because they bind to the human cells more and they get into our cells and replicate more and make people sick or at least transmit the virus. Those are real concerns. So we'll be watching very closely.
Ghaly also unveiled a public service announcement about the vaccine targeted to the Latinx community. He said the state is working to make sure the vaccine is distributed equitably to all communities. That may mean extended hours at vaccine sites.
"The time when vaccines happen matters. That people who work long days on the frontlines or who come home exhausted may need late-night options," he said.
Even with the improved COVID infection rates, the Bay Area remains in the purple tier.
Ghaly cautioned people to avoid another spike, by refraining from attending large gatherings Super Bowl weekend.