Thousands continue to get vaccinated at Yuma Civic Center state POD site
News 11's Adonis Albright brings us the latest on the vaccine rollout in the Desert Southwest
YUMA, Ariz (KYMA, KECY) - More than 1,400 vaccinations are being administered a day at the new state POD site at the Yuma Civic Center. Since opening on Monday, the site has already vaccinated more than 4,000 people, and appointments are consistently getting booked up both over the phone and online.
“Our appointments for Yuma were actually filled within just a couple of days", said Kristina McNair, the Director of Continuous Improvement and Project Development at Yuma Regional Medical Center (YRMC).
The POD site, which is run by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and YRMC, is also making sure those who don't have reliable internet access are still able to book an appointment over the phone.
“We actually allocate 20% of our appointments to the call center specifically, and 80% to the online network. That insures that our patients who don’t have access to technology have access to an appointment.”
Although the site is making great progress in the vaccine rollout for Yuma County, it's still up in the air when the Civic Center might transition to a 24/7 vaccination site. According to YRMC, it depends entirely on the vaccine allocation from ADHS.
“And so we do anticipate that we’ll be seeing consistently our ability to be able to deliver between 1,200 and 1,400 doses per day until the state increases our allocation.”
If the site transitions to a 24/7 operation, YRMC says up to 4,000 vaccines can be administered a day. You can book an appointment to receive your COVID-19 vaccine through the ADHS website.
Yuma Regional eases visitation restrictions
Yuma Regional also made changes to its visitors policy on Thursday, citing a decline in the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations. The hospital reported 6 COVID-19 patients on Thursday, changing its restrictions from "moderate" to "minimal".
Erin Brandt, the person in charge of patient experience and care advocacy at YRMC, said as more vaccines continue to be administered, there's hope the restrictions could be lifted completely.
Related: YRMC: Visitation restrictions eased as COVID-19 hospitalizations decrease
“It’s going to be a wait and see [approach], and it really comes down to the prevalence of disease within our own community, and those talks are already in progress", said Brandt.
The hospital is also reminding patients and visitors that a mask is still required inside its main campus, as well as all clinics and other related facilities.
