Pima County Health Department Logistics Manager Spencer Graves said today vaccinations are ahead of schedule for this week but warned the pace may slow next week due to changes by the state in Pfizer vaccine allocations.
The County and vaccination team leaders with Banner Health and Tucson Medical Center, who are providing the vaccinations for the 1a group of healthcare workers in the regional vaccination plan, had expected to vaccinate about 1,000 medical workers by Friday afternoon.
But the pace has gone faster than expected, Graves said, and about 1,850 will be vaccinated by the end of today at the two vaccination “pods” run by Banner and TMC. Those vaccinations are part of 11,000 Pfizer vaccines received by the County this week.
About 17,000 Moderna vaccines are expected to arrive early next week, possibly Monday, Dec. 21, at the earliest. Those vaccines don’t have to be kept as cold as the Pfizer version and so about 11,000 of them will be distributed to community hospitals and other clinics around the county and can be stored in standard laboratory freezers. About 6,000 will go to Banner and TMC for the pods.
View the distribution plan in Attachment 3 in this Board of Supervisors memorandum.
More than 10,000 Pfizer vaccines were expected next week as well, but the state informed the County Dec. 18 that it is reducing the amount to just under 2,000.
The Pfizer reduction may slow the pace of vaccinations. The County and the regional medical community hope to have every medical professional who works with COVID patients vaccinated by the end of December.
For more information about COVID-19 vaccinations in Pima County.