The executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association estimates that the state is about 700,000 fully vaccinated people away from reaching a possible herd immunity. 

Will Humble, who is also the former director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, is basing his estimates on what Israel is experiencing, but as health experts have been consistently pointing out: reaching herd immunity does not mean COVID-19 will be gone. 

“What it really means is that in the absence of any kind of mitigation measures, you still see a decline in cases. That’s what herd immunity means," Humble said.

Humble says it may be hard for Arizona to reach herd immunity as demand for the vaccine is declining. 

“I’m hoping that we're going to achieve some benefit from the fact that doctors can now finally order vaccines and get them into their offices," Humble said.

And Humble says walk-up appointments will also help more people get vaccinated.