The director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, Dr. Cara Christ, receives a COVID-19 vaccine in Phoenix on December 16, 2020. (Photo by Twitter / @ AZDHS)
PHOENIX – A day after becoming one of the first Arizona people to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the state health director said Thursday that the general public could have access to the shots in March.
But more months will pass before vaccines are expected to domesticate the worst pandemic in modern history.
“It will probably still be a while before we have enough to get back to normal, maybe in the summer,” Dr. Cara Christ said. The Mike Broomhead Show on KTAR News 92.3 FM.
Christ, who was part of a small group of Arizona health professionals to receive the vaccine Wednesday, said the state will be able to provide “tens of thousands” of doses a day at full capacity.
“Then you can get it at pharmacies, at your doctor’s office,” he said. “It will be more abundant in the community.”
But first, the state distributes its first shipments to health workers, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, populations classified in phase 1A of the COVID-19 vaccination plan of the Department of Health. ‘Arizona. According to plan estimates, the first phase includes about 375,000 people.
“We’re working to get health care providers monitored and appointments so they can get their vaccine,” Christ said.
“We are also working to immediately vaccinate our long-term care residents in our specialized nursing facilities.”
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the first to get emergency approval for use in the United States, requires two separate shots several weeks. The Modern vaccine, which is expected to get approval in the next few days, also requires two shots.
A limited number of locations in Maricopa and Pima counties began firing health workers Thursday.
The vaccine launch begins while several metrics of coronavirus are or are approaching the highest they have ever been in Arizona.
“We are expected to get our front-line health workers vaccinated, hopefully with their first shot, in early January,” Christ said.
There are two additional priority phases that need to be passed, representing more than half of the state’s population, before the general public can be vaccinated.
“We anticipate that we will move on to the next phases in January and will probably reach the people in phase 1B in mid-January, early February,” Christ said.
Phase 1B, with approximately 800,000 people, includes adults with high-risk medical conditions in congregated living environments and workers whose jobs are classified as essential. This includes teachers, law enforcement, emergency services and grocery store employees, among others.
“A lot of citizens in general will be part of these essential workers because it incorporates transportation, food, energy and utilities companies,” Christ said.
Phase 1C includes approximately 2.2 million adults with certain underlying medical conditions and 1.2 million Arizona people age 65 or older.