Vaccine Shortage Limits San Diego County To 10,000 Shots A Day — Half Of Capacity

February 4, 2021

San Diego County public health officials said Wednesday a shortage of vaccine has limited doses to 10,000 per day — half of what could be administered.

Supervisor Nathan Fletcher told a news briefing that the county now has 19 vaccination sites in operation with a capacity of more than 20,000 shots a day.

“The problem that we have now is our efforts have far outpaced the supply of vaccines,” he said. “If those supplies increase, we are poised and ready and can quickly ramp up.”

He said that by mid February, the county would be able to administer as many as 30,000 doses a day, “but the limiting factor is the supply.”

Fletcher said the county has been shipped 586,325 doses to date and administered 357,507 doses, with 10.2% of the county population having received at least one shot and 2.0% fully vaccinated.

He said the lack of vaccine is the principle reason why it is difficult to schedule an appointment at one of the county sites.

“Because of this, we only make appointments available for vaccines we have or are confident are coming,” he said. “We don’t want to cancel an appointment.”

He added that as soon as the number of appointment requests from residents 65 and older begins to decline, the county will open appointments to younger people.

Despite the the limited supply, he said San Diego County ranks second in California after Contra Costa County in the percentage of population that has received at least one dose.

Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.