According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, only 6% of residents in Arizona nursing homes are up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccines. For staff, that figure is even lower. Just over 1% received the latest booster or the bivalent shot in the past two months. 

"I wish that I could say that I was surprised. But I'm actually not," said Dana Marie Kennedy with AARP Arizona. "I mean, Arizona has often trended at the bottom of getting people vaccinated and boosted, especially in our long term care facilities."

Kennedy says access to the vaccines and COVID-19 fatigue are factors. Staff at nursing homes are not required to get the shot.

This data does not include the state’s nearly 3,000 assisted living facilities. 

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