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– An Arizona county has simplified its requirements for receiving a COVID-19 vaccination: you just have to be over 18. Gila County opened its vaccine stockpile two weeks ago, in part because it has one of the lowest dosages in the state, CBS reports. Health officials also received Arizona’s approval to administer vaccinations at a drive-thru clinic last week. “Before that, we struggled to find enough people to schedule appointments,” said Michael O’Driscoll, the province’s director of public health. “So the state gave me permission to offer it to any resident 18 and older.” A provincial survey had found that about half of the 56,000 residents would be vaccinated if possible; about a quarter of the residents have now had at least one injection.
Officials have now started offering vaccinations to anyone who also works in the small county east of Phoenix, per CNN. A strong communications effort to let people know that vaccinations were available, mainly by treating the pandemic like a raging fire, worked well, officials said. “What we’ve done is we set up the pandemic, just like we would during our firing season,” said O’Driscoll. “We set up our incident command in much the same way.” People from different communities and provincial chapters helped get the vaccine to the residents. A nurse officer at Cobre Regional Medical Center said there is still a lack of enthusiasm among young people, especially to get the photos, which she says could hinder efforts to achieve herd immunity. Gila County reported 3,885 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 154 deaths on Thursday. (Read more stories about coronavirus vaccines.)