The Arizona Department of Health Services is opening up registration for 21,000 more appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine starting tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 9 a.m. This is part of the state’s ongoing work to speed up the pace of vaccine distribution. These additional appointments will be available to prioritized Arizonans at the new state-run vaccination site at Arizona State University’s Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
These 21,000 appointments are now available thanks to vaccine supply identified because of Governor Ducey’s Executive Order last week. Appointments will be available from Friday, Feb. 5 through Thursday, Feb. 18, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Those who receive their first vaccinations at State Farm Stadium or Phoenix Municipal Stadium will have a guaranteed appointment for second doses at the same vaccination site.
Last week, Governor Ducey issued Executive Order 2021-01 requiring all vaccine providers that have received more than 1,000 doses and had over 40% of those doses remaining unused to submit a plan to the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). Plans submitted by counties and health care providers identified available doses of the Pfizer vaccine and allowed ADHS to open up additional appointments at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
“Arizona acted quickly to ensure these vaccine doses will go to Arizonans with urgency, rather than sitting in a freezer,” said Governor Doug Ducey. “With State Farm Stadium and our new Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Arizona has dramatically increased the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered each day. These vaccination sites have become a national model for other states and we will continue to look for ways to ensure Arizona’s vaccine doses are being used.”
In addition, Arizonans registering for these new appointments online will have a simpler, easier user experience. New improvements to the state’s vaccine registration website recently went live at podvaccine.azdhs.gov. Among them: a feature that shows the next available appointment rather than requiring a user to search by day for appointments.
Information about all the vaccination sites across Arizona can be found at azhealth.gov/findvaccine. Those without computer access or needing extra help registering can call 1-844-542-8201 to be connected with an operator who can assist. Note: You can use the patient portal at podvaccine.azdhs.gov to make an appointment for someone else in a prioritized group, such as someone 65 and older.
More than 702,664 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far to 579,225 Arizonans, including 109,617 who have received both doses. As of today, 123,242 Arizonans have been vaccinated at the state-run vaccination sites since the opening of State Farm Stadium on Jan. 11 and Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Feb. 1. In less than three weeks, State Farm Stadium has administered over 25% of the total vaccine given in Maricopa County, which includes sites that have had vaccine since Dec. 14. Over 95% of those vaccinated at the site are Maricopa County residents.
“We know the vaccine is in high demand, and we expect the appointments to fill quickly,” said ADHS Director Dr. Cara Christ. “Building off of the success of the State Farm Stadium site, we are able to replicate these sites quickly to add capacity when we get vaccine. Our only limiting factor is the amount of vaccine we are receiving from our federal partners.”
In an effort to add more appointments and in accordance with Executive Order 2021-01, ADHS will prioritize allocating limited vaccine resources to sites that have proven, efficient administration, including:
- Sites that are open 7 days a week;
- Sites that have extended hours of operation;
- Sites that have the capacity to administer large numbers of vaccine doses (greater than 4,000 per day);
- Sites that are using the vaccine they receive on a weekly basis and not stockpiling; and
- Sites that vaccinate the priority groups determined by the Vaccine and Antiviral Prioritization Advisory Committee (VAPAC), which includes vaccinating people between the ages of 65 and 74 as a part of the priority Phase 1B population.
Groups prioritized to date include: frontline healthcare workers, emergency services workers, and residents and staff at long-term care facilities (in Phase 1A); and protective services workers; K-12, university, and community college educators; childcare workers; and adults 65 and older (prioritized Phase 1B). Each county’s current vaccine phase is listed on the ADHS website, which is updated daily.
To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination, please visit azdhs.gov/COVID19Vaccines.
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