Pima County vaccination push phasing out use of large sites

As variant rises, vaccine plan targets ‘movable middle’

Thrown off-stride to reach its COVID-19 vaccination goal, the Biden administration is sending A-list officials across the country, devising ads for niche markets and enlisting community organizers to persuade unvaccinated people to get a shot.

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Pima County is phasing out mass vaccination sites as health officials increasingly focus on permanent health care facilities such as pharmacies, doctors’ offices and clinics to vaccinate the remainder of the Tucson area’s population.

County officials said July 2 that nearly 70% of residents 18 or older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and that vaccination rates among those 65 or older were at almost 93%.

So-called points of distribution were closed late last month at the University of Arizona, Udall Center, El Pueblo Library and Tucson Mall, while one such site at Kino Event Center is being shifted to the Abrams Public Health Center.

Other clinics as well as pop-up sites continue to provide vaccinations.

June 26 was the last day of operation for two vaccination sites operated by the county and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The mass-vaccination site on the university campus administered one of every four vaccinations in the county.

Arizona on Saturday reported 645 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and 14 more deaths, increasing the state’s pandemic totals to 896,518 cases and 17,975 deaths, There were 520 COVID-19 occupying hospital beds as of Friday.