More COVID vaccines coming to Yuma County
More doses arriving next week - News 11's Adonis Albright has the late-breaking details
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Yuma County could receive as many as 14,300 doses of the Moderna vaccine some time next week. That's the word from Dr. Cara Christ, the director of the Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS).
Christ made the announcement Friday during a media briefing on the status of vaccine distribution across the state.
Statewide, Arizona is expected to receive 803,150 vaccines for the week of January 18. Dr. Christ said as more vaccines become available, the department can begin to move away from the local allocator model it's been using for vaccine distribution, and eventually pharmacies and other health care providers will be able to order directly through the manufacturers.
In the meantime, residents in Yuma County who are eligible for the vaccine but were unable to book an appointment are essentially in limbo. According to the department, nearly 6,000 people in the prioritized phase 1B category in Yuma County have been vaccinated.
News 11 also asked Dr. Cara Christ how the new 24/7 vaccination sites will affect allocations to other counties. She said the sites will only be using the Pfizer vaccines, to ensure other counties can receive uninterrupted shipments from Moderna moving forward.
“We are only using the Pfizer vaccine at State Farm Stadium and also for the Phoenix Municipal Stadium, and so the one nice thing about us using the Pfizer vaccine, because it has such stringent requirements for freezers and thawing and the time that it can be out, it can’t see the sunlight for very long. Our rural counties actually asked not to get the Pfizer vaccine, so that saves the Moderna vaccine for our rural counties", said Dr. Christ.
Related: Yuma County says no more COVID-19 vaccines available, at least for now
Yuma County is asking the public, for those who don't want to wait to get vaccinated, to visit the AZDHS website to sign up for an appointment at one of the sites in Maricopa County. More appointments will be made available next Tuesday, January 19 at 9 AM for the month of February.
More information about the vaccine and eligibility can be found here.
