(AP Photo / Terry Tang)
PHOENIX – Arizona’s top health official said on Friday that people who don’t have an appointment to get the coronavirus vaccine may still have ways to end up with the injection.
Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said at a news conference that the clinical team at the vaccination site is tasked with making the decision to vaccinate someone who is in the car with someone who does have an appointment.
Aspects involved in that decision include the number of no-shows on a particular day and whether the person in the vehicle is a caretaker of the person scheduled for the admission, saying that that person is still seeing others in danger.
People in the car could also receive the injection if they had an appointment but were not scheduled that day, as long as there are adequate 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 those 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,” said Christ.
Those in the Priority Stage 1B or Stage 1A are eligible for the coronavirus vaccine at state-run facilities, including State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
This includes health care workers, emergency services, long-term care workers and residents, as well as education and childcare workers, protective services professions, and adults aged 75 and over.
The state’s age limit will be lowered to 65 on Tuesday, but vaccination sites managed by some counties, including Maricopa County, will keep the current age limit of 75.
More than 232,000 people were vaccinated statewide, according to the AZDHS report on Friday, with more than 600,000 vaccines ordered.