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(AP Photo)
PHOENIX – Maricopa County will expand COVID-19 vaccination eligibility to 65, lowering age requirements, as nearly half of seniors have already received at least one vaccine.
The new age limit goes into effect Monday, Maricopa County Public Health announced Thursday. The agency also announced that it has launched a vaccine dashboard.
“The data shows that our decision to give the elderly a little more time to access the vaccine has been successful and that the time has come to invite our residents 65 and over to get vaccinated,” said Marcy Flanagan, director of the health department. in a press release.
The move aligns with the federal pharmacy vaccination program scheduled to begin later this week, which will place the vaccine in 182 pharmacies in Maricopa County.
The county health department estimates that nearly 400,000 adults aged 65 to 74 will become eligible for the vaccine.
According to the departmental scorecard, more than 120,000 people in Maricopa County (about one in four people who received at least one dose) have been fully immunized with two doses of the vaccine and about half of those vaccinated are 65 years of age or older .
The county is also working to roll out vaccination events, such as neighborhood pop-up vaccinations, in the coming weeks for people meeting the age requirement.
Maricopa County also operates five distribution points in partnership with valley hospitals for all eligible priority populations, as well as one at Grand Canyon University.
While the Arizona Department of Health Services lowered the age from 75 to 65 last month for Phase 1B, the county has held firm, citing a limited vaccine supply.
For more information on vaccine availability statewide, the ADHS website has a vaccine search page with a map of locations and registration information.
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