Tuesday, March 9, 2021

SAN DIEGO – In an effort to provide greater COVID-19 protections for San Diegans experiencing homelessness, today Mayor Todd Gloria announced that the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine will be made available Tuesday and Wednesday to all shelter residents and staff of Operation Shelter to Home at the San Diego Convention Center.

Due to the often temporary nature of stays in one shelter location, the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine is a great option for the residents of Operation Shelter to Home and individuals experiencing homelessness. The City has been working closely with the County of San Diego to make vaccines available to the shelter as supplies throughout the region permit.

On March 5, Mayor Gloria announced the timeline and plans for residents of the emergency shelter at the Convention Center to be relocated to several other City shelters by the end of March. The vaccines offer another level of protection against the COVID-19 virus ahead of the moves that are slated to begin the week of March 22.

Just as they previously did for shelter residents and staff 65 years and older, City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Firefighters and Lifeguards will administer the vaccinations in the on-site medical unit to all residents and staff Tuesday and Wednesday who choose to take advantage of the offer.

In the weeks leading up to the initial vaccination effort, the City of San Diego worked closely with the County, San Diego Housing Commission and homeless service providers Alpha Project and Father Joe’s Villages to provide information to clients about the vaccines, develop notification and scheduling procedures, and establish an on-site workflow for administering the vaccines.

For more information about COVID-19 vaccine distribution, visit coronavirus-sd.com/vaccine.