Arizona to receive just under 175K COVID-19 vaccines this week

PHOENIX — Arizona will receive an additional 174,800 COVID-19 vaccines this week, boosting the state’s allotment up to 1.3 million.

The total, however, is below the amount requested by Gov. Doug Ducey, Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ and other state lawmakers.

Ducey and Christ recently requested an emergency infusion of 300,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses and an increase of 300,000 doses weekly from the state’s federal allotment.

That request, Ducey said, was denied.

The governor wrote a letter last week pressing the state’s congressional delegation to engage at every level to help secure additional vaccines for the state.

“There could be no better use of your time or advocacy efforts than in helping to secure these additional vaccine doses for the people of Arizona to help end this pandemic for good,” Ducey said.

Arizona’s four GOP Congress members and Rep. Greg Stanton, a Democrat, followed Ducey’s request and sent letters requesting more vaccines.

Ducey said the current allocation of vaccines from federal partners is resulting in the state-run vaccination pods at State Farm Stadium and Phoenix Municipal Stadium to operate below capacity.

Around 9,000 vaccine doses are given daily at State Farm Stadium out of a capacity of 12,000, Christ said Monday.

All appointments at State Farm Stadium and Phoenix Municipal Stadium are booked through February, but appointments have been reserved for those vaccinated at state-run sites to receive second doses.

Ducey said vaccine doses are the single biggest limiting factor to opening more appointments and creating new mass vaccination sites, adding officials are looking to open several mass vaccination sites across Arizona.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took a virtual tour of the State Farm Stadium site on Monday, hosted by Christ and other officials.

Ducey was not present for the tour, or named by Biden, but the president thanked the governor for his cooperation in distributing COVID-19 vaccines in the state. Ducey responded on Twitter thanking Biden and Harris for taking the time to tour the site and is glad the hard work front line workers are doing is being noticed.

While Biden praised the site as being a model that others can follow around the country, he didn’t address the request for more vaccines.

Biden in the tour offered to send more vaccinators if needed and is optimistic there is enough vaccine for over 300 million people to be vaccinated before the end of the summer.

Arizona is getting close to one million vaccines administered as 920,166 doses have been given so far with 33% of the state’s supply remaining, according to the state health department’s update on Monday evening.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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