(Photo by AP / Terry Tang)
PHOENIX – Arizona’s top health official said Friday that people who do not have an appointment to receive the coronavirus vaccine may still have ways to end the shooting.
Arizona Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ told a news conference that the clinical team at the vaccination site is tasked with making the decision to vaccinate someone in the car with a person who has an appointment.
Issues that fall into that decision include the number of absences in a given day and whether the person in the vehicle is a caregiver of the person scheduled for the shooting, saying that person could endanger others.
The people in the car could also get the shot if they had an appointment, but they would not have been scheduled for that day, as long as there are enough staff and the vaccine is available.
This, Christ said, allows people to go to the vaccination site only twice instead of four times.
“They make these clinical judgments on a case-by-case basis to make sure we get as many vaccines as possible, that none are wasted, and that we try to be as customer-friendly as possible,” Christ said.
Those in Priority Phase 1B or Phase 1A are eligible for the coronavirus vaccine at state-run facilities, including State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
This includes health care workers, emergency services, staff of long-term care institutions and residents, along with education and childcare workers, occupations of protection services and adults aged 75 and over.
The state’s age limit will be reduced to 65 on Tuesday, but vaccination sites run by some counties, including Maricopa County, will remain at the current age of 75.
More than 232,000 people were vaccinated statewide, according to the AZDHS report, on Friday, with more than 600,000 vaccines ordered.