FILE: A pharmacy technician loads a syringe with Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, at a mass vaccination site at the Portland Expo in Portland, Maine. U.S. experts are expected to recommend COVID-19 vaccine stimulants to all Americans, regardless of age, eight months after receiving the second dose of the shot, to ensure lasting protection against coronavirus as the delta variant spreads across the country. An announcement was expected as early as this week, and doses will begin to be widely administered once the Food and Drug Administration formally approves the vaccines. (Photo AP / Robert F. Bukaty)
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials reported 3,307 new cases of COVID-19 and three additional deaths from the disease on Sunday.
The latest documented totals are 986,082 infections and 18,600 deaths, according to the COVID-19 board of the Arizona Department of Health Services.
People who are not fully vaccinated account for almost all serious illnesses and deaths.
The number of hospitalized patients confirmed or suspected of COVID-19 in state hospitals increased by five overnight to 1,871 on Saturday.
The number of ICU beds used by patients with COVID-19 dropped from seven to 455, most since February 22.
The board also showed that 3,947,963 people (54.9% of the state’s population, based on 7,189,020 residents) have received at least one dose of vaccine in Arizona and 3,468,678 people are fully vaccinated (the 48.2% of the population). National rates are 60.5% with at least one dose and 51.3% fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Daily updates from the state health department present case and death data after the state receives statistics and confirms them, which can be delayed several days or more. They do not represent the actual activity during the last 24 hours. Hospitalization numbers published each morning are communicated electronically the night before by hospitals across the state.
Free, federally authorized vaccines are widely available and highly effective in preventing COVID-19 disease, including the most contagious delta variant that now accounts for most new cases in the United States.
For details on statewide vaccine availability, the ADHS website has a vaccine search engine page with locations and other information.
For information on the availability of the Phoenix Metro vaccine, Maricopa County Public Health has a location page that includes pharmacies, government-run sites, health clinics, and pop-up distribution events.
Appointments may be required depending on the provider, but many accept access.
The minimum age to receive the Pfizer shot has been reduced to 12, but is still 18 for the other approved versions, Modern and Johnson & Johnson.
COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, has no impact on some people and is severely debilitating or deadly to others. Asymptomatic infected people, which include, among others, cough, fever, and difficulty breathing, are able to spread the virus.
You can find information on where to test for COVID-19 on the ADHS website.