Ducey: COVID-19 vaccine distribution needs shot in the arm

Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday took executive action to rapidly expand Arizonans’ access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

In an effort to streamline distribution across the state, Ducey ordered the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) to “implement a state-directed allocation model to ensure a uniform approach to the vaccination of high-risk and high-priority Arizonans.”

The executive order also establishes additional vaccination sites.

“Across the country, news of delays in distributing the COVID-19 vaccine are being reported,” Ducey said in a news release. “While Arizona has avoided many of these issues, any delay in shots being given to Arizonans is unacceptable. The development of the vaccine was called Operation Warp Speed, and the distribution of the vaccine should follow that same sense of urgency.”

According to the CDC COVID Data Tracker, 12.4 million doses of vaccine have been distributed to sites nationwide, but only 2.8 million vaccinations have been given.

“Any delay in the vaccine getting to Arizonans, any dose that sits in a freezer rather than reaching the arm of a health care worker or long-term care resident, carries too great a cost,” the governor continued. “This is a health emergency, and we need all levels of government and our health system operating as such. Vaccines don’t do any good sitting in a freezer.”

The order gives ADHS the authority to take possession of any vaccine allocation and reallocate it to provide statewide coverage for rapid distribution and administration. It also states private vaccination distribution sites can be established after only consultation with ADHS.

Ducey also announced daily reporting will be conducted on county-by-county vaccine administration data to provide full transparency for the public on vaccine distribution. Local health departments are required to provide notice to ADHS within 24 hours of proceeding to the next phase of vaccine distribution.

That notice will ensure that state residents have quick access to information to make informed decisions about their health and the health of their loved ones, Ducey said.

In Pinal County, vaccinations continued through Wednesday in the prioritized phase 1A group, composed of front-line health care workers, emergency medical services workers, and residents and staff at long-term care facilities, according to an update on the county health department website. They are receiving the Moderna vaccine, two doses 28 days apart.

After that group is completed, vaccinations will begin in the next group. Already, some in the 1B group – education and childcare workers, and members of protective services occupations – are being informed by their respective organizations where to get their COVID vaccinations, the health department said. Earlier this week, people 75 and older were added to the 1b group. Maricopa residents in that group can register by clicking here to register for the vaccine at the Pinal County Public Health Clinic at 41600 N. Smith Enke Road.

According to the registration site, vaccines for the 1B group will tentatively be given on Thursdays at the clinic, beginning Jan. 7. Appointments can only be made 10 days in advance. People visiting the clinic are asked to wear a face mask to their appointment.

The decision by the Arizona Vaccine and Antiviral Prioritization Advisory Committee is intended to protect those who are most at risk for severe outcomes due to COVID-19, such as hospitalization and death, and to reduce strain on Arizona’s hospitals. Older Arizonans are far more likely to experience severe COVID-19 complications and be hospitalized than younger individuals, it said.

The decision is aligned with updated recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which recently voted to include those over the age of 75 in phase 1B.