After administering 1.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to 875,000 individuals, the state’s mass-vaccination program officially ends today with the last appointments at Gila River Arena in Glendale.
With vaccine widely available, Arizona’s focus has shifted to promoting neighborhood options such as pharmacies and doctors’ offices, supporting pop-up clinics, and providing outreach to areas and populations hesitant to get vaccinated.
“We are tremendously grateful to the partners, volunteers, and staff who have worked tirelessly since January to offer this convenient and efficient way to get vaccine into the community,” said Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). “We are proud of what these sites have accomplished and also proud of the Arizonans who have stepped up to get vaccinated at these facilities.”
Starting Jan. 11 with the 24/7 operation at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, at a time when vaccine was in short supply and demand was extremely high, the state’s network grew to include other sites around the greater Phoenix area and in Tucson, Yuma, and Flagstaff. As the temperatures warmed, ADHS and its partners transitioned most sites to indoor facilities, including an indoor drive-thru operation at Dexcom’s distribution center in east Mesa.
The Glendale operation, which moved into Gila River Arena on April 23, administered by far the most doses among state-run sites: nearly 900,000 through Friday, June 25. State Farm Stadium, opened in partnership with the Arizona Cardinals, administered a daily record of 12,148 doses on March 28. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris made a virtual visit in February, talking at length with Dr. Christ and others and calling the facility a national model for mass vaccination.
Even as state-run sites continued operating, ADHS was supporting a shift to neighborhood operations by enabling doctors’ offices to order vaccine directly. This launched outreach efforts in areas of Phoenix, Mesa, Yuma, Glendale, and Scottsdale with higher numbers of COVID-19 cases and lower vaccination rates, and contracting with providers to operate mobile clinics at the neighborhood level.
As of today, 6.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to 3,546,407 individuals, including 3,133,969 who are fully vaccinated.
“Arizona has come a long way, but the many people who have yet to get vaccinated, regardless of the reason, remain at risk of developing severe cases and potentially long-term health impacts of COVID-19,” Dr. Christ said. “COVID-19 remains active in our communities, and variants such as Delta increase the chances that the virus will spread among those without the protection offered by vaccines.”
Hundreds of locations around Arizona offer safe, highly effective, and free COVID-19 vaccines, often on a walk-in basis. To locate one, please visit azdhs.gov/FindVaccine.
To learn more about the benefits of vaccination against COVID-19, please visit azdhs.gov/COVID19vaccines.
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