SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — The Scripps Del Mar Vaccination Super Station will be closed on Saturday due to a shortage of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine but will reopen Sunday, officials announced Thursday.
Patients who had appointments at the super station on Saturday -- which were all for second doses of the Pfizer vaccine -- are being rescheduled for Sunday automatically through the MyTurn online appointment system.
Of the county's population over the age of 16, 22.1% -- or more than 594,000 people -- have received at least one dose and 10.7% -- or more than 287,000 people -- have been fully inoculated.
In a major policy shift, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday the state will set aside 40% of its vaccine doses for hard-hit communities, generally those that are lower income and have had higher infection rates and lower numbers of residents getting vaccinated.
"With more vaccines online and administered, California is now in a position to take steps toward ending this pandemic by keeping our guard up and by vaccinating those Californians most at risk and most exposed," Newsom said in a statement.
"Vaccinating our most impacted communities, across our state, is the right thing to do and the fastest way to end this pandemic."
San Diego County public health officials reported 508 new COVID-19 cases and 17 additional deaths Thursday, increasing the totals to 261,861 cases and 3,359 deaths.
Of 17,763 tests reported by the county, 3% returned positive. The 14- day rolling average decreased to 3.6% from Wednesday's 3.7%.
The number of hospitalizations declined to 430, with 144 of those in intensive care units. There are 62 staffed, available ICU beds in the county.
One month ago, there were 1,265 people hospitalized with COVID-19, 369 of whom were in ICU beds.