(Photo by Eva Marie Uzcategui Trinkl / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
PHOENIX – Arizona has not received all doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for next week, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Health officials said in a press release on Friday that the state expected to order 70,200 doses of vaccine, but could only order 41,925.
The department contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for an explanation, but they are awaiting a response, according to the statement.
In addition, the state ordered 119,400 doses of Moderna and is expected to arrive sometime between December 21 and December 23. Maricopa County will receive 18,500 of Moderna’s doses and Pima County will receive 17,000.
The Modern vaccine is currently awaiting federal approval.
In recent days, governors and health leaders from more than a dozen states have said the federal government has told them that the shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine next week will be lower than initially planned.
Little explanation was offered, which left many state officials perplexed.
Arizona health officials reported 7,635 new coronavirus cases and an additional 142 deaths on Friday, bringing the state’s documented total to 442,671 COVID-19 infections and 7,819 fatalities.
It was the third day in a row with at least 100 deaths reported. Until Thursday, there had never been days in a row in three digits.
The state’s largest hospital system, Banner Health, reported Friday that it needs refrigerated trucks to cope with the rising death toll.
Currently, one truck is used at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix, while another truck is on hold at a Banner warehouse, said Dr. Marjorie Bessel, clinical director of Banner Health.
The first U.S. doses of the coronavirus vaccine were administered Monday, and as early as this week, hundreds of thousands of people, mostly health workers, have been vaccinated. The pace is expected to pick up next week, assuming Moderna obtains federal approval for its vaccine.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.