Maricopa County rolls out coronavirus vaccine distribution plan

PHOENIX — Hopefully, a week from now, Maricopa County will get the first of its 40,000 coronavirus vaccines.

“The vaccine is a sign of hope that we have been looking forward to,” said Marcy Flanagan, director of Public Health. “But it will be many months before most people will have the chance to get the vaccine.”

Flanagan presented her department’s plans to the Board of Supervisors on Monday morning, and then fielded questions from news reporters via webinar that afternoon.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will send the coronavirus vaccines to five pods, or locations, countywide. Skilled nursing patients and staffs are top priority.

Flanagan also says her team has done test runs with their facilities.

“Sites have been operationalized and setting up for several weeks now,” she said. “These have been plans in the works for many months. Even all of the sites that won’t be ready to go next week have already started walking through the processes to make sure they’re as smooth as possible.”

But the FDA must still approve the vaccines. News for Pfizer’s vaccine could come later this week and Moderna’s next week.

Maricopa County has 123,000 people in the top priority tier, after skilled nursing homes. It includes first responders, other healthcare workers and teachers.

People will need two doses at least two weeks apart. Flanagan hopes tier 1-A finishes by March, unless something happens during vaccine manufacturing or some unforeseen “curve ball.”

COVID-19 vaccines will be free to the public to boost herd immunity. She believes that will be reached when 80% of the population would be safe against the virus.

Flanagan also believes it could take until spring or summer for everyone who wants a vaccine to get one.

Even with Maricopa County’s coronavirus vaccine distribution plan, Board of Supervisors Chairman Clint Hickman knows public health workers could have a hard time just getting people to return for their second shots after two weeks.

He also knows the plan is fluid and imperfect.

“There are just so many things where mistakes could happen, or issues could come up in the supply chain,” Hickman said. “I just hope every entity realizes this is going to be tough.”

Still, Hickman and the board applaud the plan, calling it thorough and historic, but also based on successful vaccine distribution programs of the past.

Buy-in to take the Coronavirus vaccine is another problem.

Supervisor Steve Gallardo deals with more than language barriers.

“I can just think of the town of Guadalupe off the top of my head, and the city of Tolleson, where it is culturally different,” he said.

Gallardo cannot set up education tents since the pandemic has canceled public events. He urged Public Health to communicate with families through school districts.

“They may not trust the other levels of government, but the one level of government that parents trust is schools,” he said.

Flanagan reports clinical trials didn’t include enough ethnic minorities because of their distrust of the vaccine.

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