San Francisco Unified opens COVID vaccination sites at 4 schools

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The San Francisco Unified School District opened up vaccination sites at certain schools throughout the city. In a partnership the with city's health department, they plan to vaccinate as many children eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

"Today was the first day and we had a great turnout day one," said Gino Cifolelli with the health department. "We started at 10:30 a.m. this morning and right when 10:30 struck we had folks right away coming in and getting vaccinated."

The health department says San Francisco has a great vaccination rate for children 12 and older. They say around 90% of eligible children are fully vaccinated. The move to open up these sites is a good sign according to UCSF. With the calendar already on September, doctors say getting vaccinated now can help going into winter.

RELATED: Bay Area counties prepare to vaccinate kids 5-11 years old ahead of Pfizer's expected authorization

"We will still have flus and other respiratory illnesses," said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong with UCSF. "We also don't know what will happen with COVID."

Here is the list of vaccination sites at schools according to SFUSD:

350 Harbor Road in the Bayview Tuesdays 3:30 - 6:30 p.m.

1000 Cayuga Ave in the Excelsior Wednesdays 2:30 - 5:30 p.m.

651 6th Ave in the Richmond Saturdays 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

1920 41st Ave in the Sunset Sundays 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

RELATED: COVID cases in kids reach alarming new heights, with a 240% increase since July, data shows

Dr. Chin-Hong says getting vaccinated now doesn't just help with other diseases approaching during the winter. He says it also helps those with holiday travel plans.

"I anticipate this to be a very busy travel season," he said. "People haven't seen their loved ones in 18 or more months. Just remember when you travel the infection travels with you. Getting vaccinated now can certainly help with that."

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