PHOENIX (AP) – Arizona gave the final COVID-19 vaccine injections on Friday at the state’s first and largest COVID-19 mass vaccination site.
The drive-through area in front of the State Farm Stadium has been replaced with a facility in the Gila River Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale. There are three other major state locations on Metro Phoenix, as well as major locations in Flagstaff, Tucson, and Yuma. Most are inside.
The relocation came as Arizona recently saw a slow surge in new confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths as public health officials stepped up their efforts to promote vaccination.
The state reported 896 additional COVID-19 cases on Friday – the biggest daily increase in two weeks – and 17 more deaths, bringing the total number of pandemics to 857,347 cases and 17,238 deaths.
The seven-day moving average of daily new cases rose in the last two weeks from 673 on April 7 to 675 on Wednesday, while the moving average of new deaths rose from 13 to 17 over the same period, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The number of infections is believed to be far higher than advertised as many people have not been tested. Studies have shown that people can become infected with the virus without feeling sick.
The state coronavirus dashboard reported that 594 COVID-19 patients were occupying hospital beds as of Thursday. This metric was between 500 and 600 over the past three weeks – about a tenth of the highest daily hospital stays in January.
Nearly 2.1 million people, 29% of the state’s population, have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the dashboard.
The vaccination facility at State Farm Stadium, home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, opened Jan. 11 and was delivering more than 10,000 doses per day through early April, totaling about 820,000, or 17% of the statewide total by Thursday.
For the past few weeks, the site has only been operational during the night hours as Arizona shifted its vaccination program indoors as temperatures began to rise.
The demand for vaccinations has declined in Arizona, and state officials recently touted the availability of same-day appointments. This is in contrast to the previous months when a lot of people searched online for dates to record.
“We’ve probably reached that low hanging fruit … now we’re probably reaching Arizonans who might want the vaccine but are very, very busy,” said Dr. Cara Christ, director of the State Department of Health Services.
The vaccines are increasingly available from retail pharmacies and local health clinics, and are given at pop-up locations, Christ said.
“We do know, however, that we still do tens of thousands of shots a day a week at these mass vaccination sites. So we know they continue to be good vaccine entry points,” she said.
The replacement facility at Gila River Arena, home of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, will use the main hall to check-in and vaccinate patients, who will then sit in the arena seats for post-injection observation.
The bulk vaccination facility at the University of Arizona in Tucson will close on May 2nd and reopen the next day in the campus’ Gittings Building.
In other developments:
__ Pima County does not refuse to enforce the wearing of masks in schools despite Governor Doug Ducey’s order for such a mandate to be lifted. Dr. Francisco Garcia, the county’s chief medical officer, said the mask requirement for schools will remain in place for at least the next 90 days before state legislation is postponed.
“Because we have this short time to get people vaccinated, we’re going to double up and do all we can – cajole, incentives,” Garcia said. ___ Associate press writer Terry Tang contributed to this report.
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