Officials have announced a surge of staffing resources to meet the growing demand for vaccinations at State Farm Stadium and throughout the state.
Following the mobilization of additional staff and implementation of other process improvements, wait times at state vaccination sites have been reduced significantly — to under 30 minutes today.
“Arizona is deploying all available resources to ensure that Arizonans continue to experience short wait times and receive excellent service while getting vaccinated,” Governor Ducey said. “The State Farm Stadium site is among the highest-performing mass vaccination sites in the U.S. This past weekend alone, we administered more than 10,000 doses per day. We’re committed to keeping up the pace.”
Additional staffing support at state vaccination sites will provide certainty that staffing needs are met during all shifts and shift changes. More state staff are also stepping up to supplement existing paid staff and volunteers operating state vaccine sites. Nearly 90 additional National Guard personnel will also join the vaccination effort tomorrow. In total, more than 900 National Guard personnel are deployed to support the COVID-19 mission in Arizona.
“Arizona’s vaccine sites are busy 24/7 and we are excited to see the strong demand for the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Cara Christ, Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. “These additional staffing resources will help ensure we provide everyone visiting our sites fast and friendly service. Thank you to all the volunteers, health care professionals, National Guard personnel and staff who are making this mission to vaccinate all Arizonans possible.”
“I couldn’t be prouder of Guardsmen who have joined our state’s first responders and community partners that are working around the clock to support Arizona’s statewide vaccination effort,” said Major General Michael T. McGuire, Arizona’s Adjutant General and Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs. “As our motto says, we’re always ready and always there to serve when called upon.”
Arizona is also ramping up the presence of paid staff at vaccine sites. While more staffing support is on the way, volunteer participation continues to be an important part of operations at the sites. Volunteers will typically have the opportunity to receive a vaccine following their shift.
The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) is in the process of implementing these changes, which will speed up lines at state vaccine sites:
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Closely monitoring throughput and wait times to rapidly implement adjustments and countermeasures;
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Adding 30 additional paid staff per shift;
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Moving to a paid staffing model for the majority of staff;
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Working to reduce no-shows of people signed up to volunteer and stabilize volunteer participation levels;
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Opening more slots for volunteers to improve volunteer yield;
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Reducing volunteer shifts from 8 hours to 6 hours when the new overnight hours of operation begin at State Farm Stadium on April 4 at 5 p.m.;
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Partnering with companies and organizations to increase volunteer yield;
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Requiring patients to arrive closer to their scheduled appointment time — the site will no longer accept patients arriving more than 2 hours prior to their scheduled appointment times;
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Improving traffic control in and around the state vaccine site; and
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Adding a new separate entrance for staff and volunteers
At 11 a.m. every Friday, ADHS makes appointments available at state-run sites of the following week. Registration for these and many other sites is available at podvaccine.azdhs.gov or by calling 844-542-8201 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Both resources offer assistance in English and Spanish. Information about all vaccination sites across Arizona can be found at azhealth.gov/findvaccine, To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination, please visit azdhs.gov/COVID19Vaccines.
