“Arizona’s vaccine site at State Farm Stadium has been a game changer,” Ducey said in a statement. “This week has demonstrated Arizonans are ready for the COVID-19 vaccine. We’re going to do our part to make sure they get it. I’ve said that vaccines do no one any good sitting in a freezer, and I’m grateful to the team at the Arizona Department of Health Services and Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs who have worked tirelessly to ramp up distribution.”
All appointments at the state’s 24/7 vaccination site at State Farm Stadium for January have been filled, which demonstrates strong demand for the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the ADHS. Registration for more appointments in February will open Jan. 19 at 9 a.m., according to the ADHS.
Ducey and the ADHS further announced that Arizona is dramatically expanding vaccine site capacity via the following measures.
- ADHS will launch a new additional state vaccine site in the East Valley on Feb. 1 to further expand appointment availability. Registration for appointments at a new Phoenix Municipal Stadium location will begin Jan. 19 at 9 a.m.
- The State Farm Stadium site will continue to operate at full capacity through the end of January to provide the first of two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Beginning in February, the State Farm Stadium site will begin offering second-dose appointments in addition to the site’s current capacity for first doses.
- County health departments across the state are working to expand appointment availability at their sites.
- Arizona has activated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Retail Pharmacy Program, which will allow as many as 100 pharmacy stores to begin providing vaccines over the next few weeks. When the program is fully activated, more than 800 pharmacies in Arizona will have COVID-19 vaccines available.
- Over 200 vaccination sites statewide, including 45 community health centers, have received vaccines.
- ADHS will open a new vaccine site at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in partnership with Arizona State University and the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs on Feb. 1. This site will be open during daytime hours. The number of appointments available at the site will depend on the number of vaccine doses available at that time. Registration for this new site opens Jan. 19 at 9 a.m.
“This is positive, encouraging news as we scale up our vaccination capacity in Arizona,” ADHS Director Cara Christ said in a statement. “It’s clear that Arizonans are excited about the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. We’re working around the clock to meet that demand. As the federal government ships more vaccine doses to Arizona, we will have more vaccine sites and appointments available soon.”
The biggest limiting factor on appointments is the limited supply of vaccine doses, officials said. Arizona receives weekly allocations from the federal government, which determines how many vaccine doses the state has and how many appointments can be offered. Arizona will continue to add additional vaccine sites, including community health centers and pharmacies, as more vaccine doses are allocated to Arizona.
“We are hopeful the supply of vaccine doses from the federal government will continue to increase,” Christ said. “We will be ready to add even more appointments and additional sites as the state receives more vaccine doses.”
ADHS is putting out all of the doses Arizona receives from the federal government and distributing them to Arizonans at these state sites, county sites, medical facilities and long-term care facilities, such as skilled nursing facilities and assisted-living facilities. The CDC’s Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care with CVS and Walgreens is allocated vaccine doses for the residents and staff of long-term care facilities enrolled in the program, according to the ADHS.
As of the evening of Jan. 13, 12,570 people have already been vaccinated at the 24/7 State Farm Stadium vaccination site that the ADHS and partners launched this week, according to the ADHS. Nearly 190,000 total doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to almost 171,000 Arizonans, including 17,000 individuals who have received both doses.