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San Francisco health officials urge caution as state retires color tiers, point to vaccination gaps
Summary
At a June 15 Health Commission meeting, DPH leaders said the stateis ending its color-tier system and San Francisco will mostly align while keeping key safeguards; officials highlighted high vaccine coverage among seniors but persistent disparities and warned the Delta variant could raise cases as activity increases.
San Francisco public health leaders told the cityHealth Commission on June 15 that the statehas retired the color-tier 'blueprint' and that San Francisco will mostly align with state guidance while keeping specific local safeguards in clinical and congregate settings.
Director Grant Colfax said the state move "retiring our color tiers and the blueprint" means most California Department of Public Health restrictions are lifted but reiterated that some protections remain: "face coverings are still required in certain areas, including on public transit per federal order, health care settings, indoors in schools, jails, correctional facilities, and shelters." He also said the city will require vaccination for personnel in high-risk settings such as hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and shelters.
Why it matters: Colfax said the cityhas made "tremendous progress" on vaccinations and now has relatively low daily case rates, but he warned reopening could raise case counts in the coming weeks, particularly if the more infectious Delta variant spreads. "It would be somewhat expected if these case rates increase somewhat due to increased activity and the decrease in restrictions," he said.
DPH provided local data to support the caution. Colfax reported about 36,875 cumulative cases and roughly 550 deaths in San Francisco to date, with a recent case rate of about 1.62 per 100,000 residents compared with winter peaks above 45 per 100,000. He highlighted that hospital indicators remain generally favorable, but said hospitalizations, not raw case counts, are the key metric because older residents have very high vaccination coverage.
On vaccines, Colfax said the city once administered about 14,500 doses in a single day and was then averaging roughly 2,200 doses per day with under 1,000 first doses daily. He cited coverage estimates on slides presented to the commission: about 80% of eligible San Franciscans had received at least one dose, with markedly higher coverage among people 65 and older (figures cited around 81–91% on the presentation slides). He also underscored disparities in uptake: the slides showed roughly 56% of Black/African American residents, 64% of white residents, 75% of Asian residents and 68% of Latino residents had received at least one dose in the period presented.
Public comment added workplace concerns. Jordan Pang, a security officer at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, told the commission that security staff were not getting adequate PPE, staffing or protocols and said management told some employees who tested positive to continue working if they were asymptomatic. Pang said several officers contracted COVID-19 and infected family members.
What comes next: Colfax said DPH will keep watching case rates and hospitalizations closely and urged continued outreach to remaining unvaccinated residents. The commission did not take a vote on new local restrictions at the meeting.
The commission next scheduled continued monitoring and follow-up briefings as the statetransition unfolds.
