Jill Biden, Doug Emhoff highlight Arizona’s vaccination outreach efforts

PHOENIX (KYMA, KECY) - First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff visit a vaccination clinic in Phoenix to provide the state with more mobile vaccination services in underserved communities.

Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) says that seven state-run mass vaccination sites have closed after administering more than 1.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 867,000 people in the past two weeks.

“We welcome the First Lady and Second Gentleman to Arizona and to this wonderful opportunity to see what the One Community Initiative and similar efforts are doing to make vaccination even more accessible in areas with lower uptake,” said ADHS Director Dr. Cara Christ, who will attend the event. 

Earlier this week, Jill Biden and Emhoff were in Utah earlier this week as part of their nationwide tour to celebrate the country's progress against COVID-19. However, this is the second White House event featuring an Arizona vaccination facility.

ADHS adds that outreach has helped much of the south, southwest, and southeast Phoenix and Mesa, Yuma County, and southern Scottsdale. 

“It’s wonderful to have the First Lady and Second Gentleman here focusing on the continued need for vaccination,” Dr. Christ said. “COVID-19 remains active in our communities, and new and more contagious variants increase the chances of cases and hospitalizations among unvaccinated individuals.”