Gov. Ducey says first doses of COVID-19 vaccine expected in December

PHOENIX — Gov. Doug Ducey said Monday that the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine should be on the ground in Arizona by the end of December.

Ducey, in a tweet, said that the state is working with public health officials and private sector partners to quickly and effective distribute the vaccine once it is approved by regulators.

“We’ve enrolled hundreds of providers who are ready to administer the vaccine and we expect doses on the ground in mid to late December,” Ducey tweeted.

Progress on a vaccine for the virus that has claimed the lives of more than 250,000 Americans and 6,000 Arizonans has heated up in the past few weeks.

Drugmaker AstraZeneca said Monday that late-stage trials showed its COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in one of the dosing regimens tested; it was less effective in another.

AstraZeneca was the third major drug company to report late-stage data for a potential vaccine.

Earlier this month, rival drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna reported preliminary results from late-stage trials showing their vaccines were almost 95% effective.

Late-stage trials of the vaccine are also underway in the U.S., Japan, Russia, South Africa, Kenya and Latin America, with further trials planned for other European and Asian countries.

Arizona reported 2,659 new coronavirus cases and no deaths on Monday, putting the state’s totals at 302,324 COVID-19 infections and 6,464 fatalities.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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