Pinal is only Arizona county in Phase 1B of COVID-19 vaccinations
Jan 4, 2021, 4:00 PM | Updated: Jan 5, 2021, 9:40 am
(Frank Molter/dpa via AP)
(Frank Molter/dpa via AP)
PHOENIX — Almost a month after coronavirus vaccinations started in Arizona, Pinal County is the only one in the state to have moved into Phase 1B of its plans.
The county located southeast of metro Phoenix moved into Phase 1B on Dec. 28, less than a week after Pinal started vaccinating members of the 1A group.
Phase 1B includes education and child care workers, protective services occupations, adults 75 and older, essential services and critical industry workers and adults with high-risk conditions in congregate settings.
The county received 10,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine in its initial shipment and had administered about 2,300 shots as of Monday.
Appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Pinal County are booked through the next two weeks, according to the county.
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Those in 1A are still eligible to receive the vaccine in the county despite the move to the next phase.
Maricopa County, meanwhile, remains in Phase 1A despite starting vaccinations on Dec. 15.
The state’s most populous county had vaccinated about 55,000 people as of Monday.
Vaccination efforts are starting to pick up statewide after a slow start, according to public health professionals.
More than 90,000 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines combined had been administered across more than 70 sites as of Monday.
That total was at about 80,000 on Friday.
Arizona expects to transition into Phase 1B in most counties by mid to late January.
