President Biden mentions Glendale vaccine site in address to Congress

PHOENIX — President Joe Biden in his first joint address to Congress on Wednesday evening mentioned the Glendale State Farm Stadium COVID-19 vaccine site as part of a message saying “America is on the move again.”

“At a mass vaccination center in Glendale, Arizona, I asked a nurse what it’s like,” Biden said in the speech. “She looked and said every shot feels like a dose of hope.”

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris virtually toured the 24/7 site in February and held up the state-run distribution site as a model for others to follow.

“I just want to thank you for your dedication,” Biden told Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, during the approximately 40-minute tour. “You’re saving people’s lives, short term and long term, so thank you, thank you, thank you.”

The State Farm Stadium site, which recently closed and shifted operations to nearby Gila River Arena due to rising temperatures, administered more than 820,000 doses during the four-month run.

When the site debuted on Jan. 11, the goal was to vaccinate around 6,000 people a day. That number ended up reaching 9,000 per day in March as more vaccines became available.

The stadium switched from 24/7 to overnight hours on April 5.

Six additional state-run vaccine sites across the Valley and in southern and northern Arizona would later be opened, helping the state vaccinate millions.

Nearly 2.9 million people in Arizona have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine as of Wednesday, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services dashboard, representing 40.3% of the state’s population.

Overall, 2.2 million Arizonans are fully vaccinated against the virus.

All adults across Arizona are eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines, with the minimum age at 16 for the Pfizer shot and 18 for other approved versions.

State health officials said Tuesday appointments are no longer required at state-run sites.

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