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Fire chief says department ready to vaccinate but COVID command center rejected plan
Summary
Fire Department leaders told commissioners they were prepared to run vaccinations for members and the public, but said a department rollout plan was rejected by the city's COVID command center; commissioners pushed for clearer interagency coordination.
The Fire Department told the San Francisco Fire Commission it is trained, equipped and "ready to step up" to administer COVID-19 vaccines, but the department's plan was rejected by the city's COVID command center.
Vice President Katherine Feinstein pressed the chief during the operations report, saying: "The fact that we're 10 months into this and it doesn't appear that the city has any plan to roll this out in any logical manner." Chief Janine Nicholson replied that the department's vaccine plan was submitted in November and again in early December but "was rejected" by the COVID command center. Nicholson said the department could have vaccinated its own members and stood ready to use stations, vehicles and trained personnel, but has not been given the opportunity.
Numbers and operational status cited in the meeting: the chief reported 935 department members had received at least a first vaccine dose, about 400 had signed up but not yet received shots, and 255 members declined vaccination. She also reported 36 members are currently in quarantine and said the department has recorded 107 positive cases over the preceding months.
Chief Nicholson described what she said were constraints imposed by the COVID command center: the department was told to "work within" the command center's parameters and to provide daily rosters of personnel who would be picked to assist with sites that include brick-and-mortar clinics staffed by private contractors. Nicholson said she declined a request that union members ride on private ambulances. She emphasized the department's operational readiness: "We could be out there administering vaccines right now, but we were not given that opportunity."
Why it matters: Commissioners expressed frustration that the department's trained personnel are not more directly used in vaccination efforts, especially for frontline and elderly populations. Staff noted that DPH and the Office of Emergency Management lead the vaccination project within the COVID command center structure.
Next steps: Commissioners asked staff to pursue interdepartmental coordination and to brief the commission as the city's vaccination plan evolves.
