Arizona Launches New Stadium Vaccine Site, But Appointments Are Already Full
A new mass vaccination site at Phoenix Municipal Stadium opened Monday. It’s offering COVID-19 vaccines to health care workers, teachers, adults 65 and older, and others in 1A and 1B priority groups. But the site is already completely booked through the end of this month.
Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ said the stadium has the capacity to vaccinate thousands per day, but for now it has only scheduled 500 daily appointments because of limited vaccine supply.
“We’re hoping to be able to open up appointments sooner rather than later, but it’s really going to depend on what we find, and what the supply looks like coming in,” Christ said.
→ Q&AZ: What You Need To Know About Getting The Coronavirus Vaccine In Arizona
The Biden administration has pledged to start providing more vaccine supply to states. And it will start giving states three weeks' notice on available doses so states can open up appointments earlier. But Christ said Arizona is still waiting on confirmation about additional doses.
"We have not been given our three-week forecast," Christ said. "But we're assuming the amount we got this week is probably stable over the next couple of weeks."
Christ said the state has been receiving about 160,000 doses per week. Since vaccinations began in mid-December, more than 545,000 Arizonans have gotten shots. More than 100,000 have received both doses.
