Pima County surprised with state-run vaccination site announcement
Feb 9, 2021, 4:45 AM | Updated: 2:32 pm
(AP File Photo/Elise Amendola)
(AP File Photo/Elise Amendola)
PHOENIX — Arizona’s top health official said Monday Pima County in two weeks could get the third state-run COVID-19 mass vaccination site – and that’s news to Pima County.
Chuck Huckelberry, Pima County administrator, reports no direct communication between his fellow leaders and the Arizona Department of Health Services about expanding capacity by adding a facility.
“What’s more urgently needed is a dependable supply of vaccine and an increase in the allocation,” Huckelberry told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Monday.
The federal government determines supplies based on how fast manufacturers can produce them.
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Pima County will receive just under 20,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses this week, increasing the county’s allotment to 189,225. Nearly 154,000 vaccine doses have been administered to date in Pima County, according to the state health department’s update on Monday, with the county’s supply at 19%.
Huckelberry said the health department would welcome the state’s help but, “It should not be done at the expense of the vaccine supply that we’re able to adequately distribute among all the eligible residents of Pima County.”
He calculates the vaccine supply that can be adequately distributed is 5,000 doses a day, or 85% of the county’s allocation.
Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ made the new site announcement while she gave President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris a virtual tour of State Farm Stadium’s mass vaccination site.
The Arizona Department of Health Services provided no additional details.
