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Dr Cara Christ, right, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, receives the first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19 at the Arizona Department of Health Services state laboratory in the Nurse Machrina Leach, Wednesday December 16. 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo / Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX – As Arizona moves forward with plans to expand distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, senior state officials fear they will run out of doses.
“We had a conversation yesterday that I didn’t think we were going to have anytime soon,” Governor Doug Ducey said. KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show Thursday.
“My team was concerned that we were running out of vaccines.”
Ducey said the state, which opened a large-capacity 24-hour vaccination site at State Farm Stadium in Glendale this week, is getting gunfire “as soon as it arrives” from the federal government.
“We don’t want to run out of vaccines, but I am pushing very hard on the administration and the private sector to get more vaccines to the state,” he said.
Dr Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, also spoke of supply issues on Thursday.
“We have asked our federal partners for an additional vaccine because we are very satisfied with the demand and the number of Arizonans who wish to be vaccinated,” she said. The Mike Broomhead Show.
Christ said the 42,000 doses allocated to the State Farm Stadium site are all spoken for four days after registration opens.
“We plan to use all of that and more this week and get that weekly allowance next week,” she said. “We have a lot of demand so we’re trying to make sure that everyone who has a date gets their shot here at State Farm Stadium.”
The Glendale Stadium location is booked until January and has yet to start accepting reservations for February.
But on Thursday, the state announced plans to open a second mass vaccination site on February 1, this one at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. However, slots may be limited when registration opens at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
“The number of appointments available will depend entirely on the number of doses we have,” Christ said. “So we’re still working to see what these projections look like.”
Demand will only increase when the state announces it is lowering the current age limit for eligibility from 10 to 65.
This update was made after federal authorities changed their recommendations to prioritize shots when supply is limited.
According to state officials, 85% of Arizonans who have died from COVID-19 and more than half who have been hospitalized are 65 years of age or older.
Most counties in Arizona, including Maricopa, are in the priority segment of Phase 1B. This group initially consisted of educators, child care workers, law enforcement and adults aged 75 and over.
The state’s age threshold will be lowered to 65 on Tuesday, adding around 750,000 Arizonans to the eligible segment.
Anyone in Arizona in Priority Phase 1B or Phase 1A is eligible to shoot at a state-run facility.
“Keep in mind that not all counties are in Phase 1B in Arizona,” Christ said. “And given limited resources, not all counties are able to prioritize the same way as state, so it’s really county by county.”
Adding to the logistical complexity of the deployment, the two vaccines that have received emergency use authorization in the United States require two doses spaced several weeks apart.
When Maricopa County entered Phase 1B this week, appointments at the five county-run sites were quickly canceled as many spots were already filled with people in Phase 1A receiving their second injection.
Maricopa County said Thursday it would not lower the age limit below 75 because of the limited supply.
Availability may vary as conditions change, so anyone who hasn’t found an appointment should come back regularly. On Thursday afternoon, the county’s registration web page indicated limited availability at two locations: the Arizona State Fairgrounds and Banner Sun City West.
When supplies are more plentiful, plans call for vaccines to be readily available at pharmacies, doctor’s offices, emergency care centers and other options, such as the flu shot.
The Arizona Department of Health has a vaccine search page with a statewide map of active and pending locations and links to registration websites.
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