Arizona passes 3M vaccine doses, reports 138 COVID-19 cases Thursday

PHOENIX – Arizona surpassed the 3 million mark for COVID-19 vaccine doses and reported 138 new coronavirus cases with 32 additional deaths on Thursday.

It was the smallest daily case report since Sept. 8, 2020.

The state’s latest documented totals were 837,987 COVID-19 infections and 16,874 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 dashboard.

The ADHS dashboard also showed that 3,041,773 vaccine doses have been administered in the state, with 1,927,278 people (26.8% of the state’s population) having received at least one shot and 1,185,986 people fully vaccinated.

The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients in the state’s hospitals decreased to 628 on Wednesday, the fewest since Oct. 4. The number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients dipped to 165, the fewest since Oct. 13.

The state health department’s daily updates present case, death and testing data after the state receives statistics and confirms them, which can lag by several days or more. They don’t represent the actual activity over the past 24 hours.

The hospitalization data posted each morning is reported electronically the previous evening by hospitals across the state, as required under executive order.

COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has no impact on some people and is seriously debilitating or fatal for others. Infected people without symptoms — which include but are not limited to cough, fever and difficulty breathing — are capable of spreading the virus.

Diagnostic testing is available at hundreds of locations across Arizona and should be sought out by anybody with symptoms or who may have been exposed to an infected person. Information about locations, schedules and registration can be found on the Department of Health Services website.

COVID-19 vaccine eligibility was extended Wednesday to all adults at state-run sites and other points of dispensing in Maricopa County, with the age cutoff set at 16 for the Pfizer shot and 18 for Moderna or Johnson & Johnson versions.

For details about statewide vaccine availability, the ADHS website has a vaccine-finder page with a map of locations and information about registration and eligibility.

For information about metro Phoenix vaccine availability, Maricopa County Public Health has an interactive map that lists pharmacies, government-run sites, health clinics and pop-up distribution events.

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