Supervisors require public vaccine plan while mayor reports progress on doses administered

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an emergency ordinance on Feb. 9 that requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) to prepare a publicly available COVID-19 vaccination plan and to publish information on numbers and availability of vaccines and how city residents and workers may access them.

The ordinance, considered under charter section 2.107 and requiring a two-thirds vote, was adopted unanimously (11-0). The boardrecord notes that the measure requires an affirmative vote of eight supervisors; the clerk announced the 11-0 result.

Why it matters: Supervisors said a public plan and accessible data would help residents understand where community vaccination sites are, how doses are allocated, and how priority populations are being served. Supervisor Shamann Haney, who sponsored the item in committee, said San Francisco still lacked a publicly available plan that detailed community site openings, mobile units, neighborhood-level or demographic distribution, and the number of doses received.

Supervisor Shamann Haney said: "We still do not have a publicly available plan that details how we are doing in terms of opening community sites, what sites are being explored and importantly, timeline of when they were open." He urged the city to publish more detailed data by neighborhood and demographics to assess outreach to priority populations.

Mayor London Breed addressed the board earlier in the special order for District 10 and provided a progress report on the city's vaccine effort. The mayor said the city had "administered over 44,000 doses in the city" and that roughly 13 percent of eligible San Francisco residents 16 and older had received at least one dose. She also reported that 32 percent of San Franciscans 65 and older had received a first dose and that the city planned to expand eligibility to phase 1b on Feb. 24.

During questions, President Shamann Walton asked about capacity. Mayor Breed said Moscone Center alone could perform "anywhere between 7 and 10,000 vaccines per day" and that City College and a planned site in Bayview Hunters Point would add several thousand more; she emphasized that supply, not capacity, was the limiting factor.

The vote: The emergency ordinance passed by roll call, 11-0. The clerk recorded that the ordinance required two-thirds approval under the charter and that the board met that threshold.

What the ordinance requires: The measure directs DPH to prepare and publish a plan describing vaccine availability and access methods, to post the number and availability of vaccines on its website, and to update public-facing information that helps residents determine eligibility and how to schedule appointments.

Sources: Mayor London Breed remarks to the Board (Feb. 9); Supervisor Shamann Haney floor remarks in favor of the ordinance; roll-call votes recorded in the Feb. 9 meeting transcript.