Pima County, in partnership with
Banner – University Medicine Tucson, will open a regional collaborative COVID-19 drive-thru vaccination center at the Kino Sports Complex, 2500 E. Ajo Way, on Jan. 18.
The Regional Vaccination Center is part of the County's effort to begin Phase 1B priority vaccinations under the federal, state and county vaccination plans. The initial prioritized groups for 1B include:
- People 75 and older
- Education and childcare providers (K-12 and higher education teachers and all associated educational staff)
- Protective service occupations (law enforcement, corrections, firefighters, and other emergency response staff)
The County-supported vaccination center at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium will be operated by Banner – University Medicine in the parking lot south of the stadium. The site will prioritize people age 75 and older, but will also be open to other groups in 1B stage of vaccinations, and those remaining unvaccinated in 1A. The public can begin the process to schedule an appointment at the Kino Stadium site by registering at the following link:
www.pima.gov/covid19vaccineregistration.
The hours of operation are:
- Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Sunday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Appointments are required and there will be no walk-up vaccination services. An ID to verify age and appointment is required.
The Kino Stadium site, once fully operational, is expected to expand the County’s vaccination capacity by more than 1,600 per day.
The Banner – University Medicine North site, 3838 N. Campbell Ave., also will be providing vaccines to those in priority group 1B, as well as those in 1A, beginning Jan. 15. With the opening of the Kino Stadium vaccination site, Banner – University Medicine expands the geographic spread of access to the vaccine for those who live in the southern region of Tucson and the northern region.
“The effort to vaccinate several hundred thousand people in Pima County as quickly as possible is an enormous undertaking and I can’t express enough my appreciation of Banner UMC, its leadership team and its staff in answering the call and providing this indispensable assistance and aid to the County,” said Dr. Francisco Garcia, Pima County’s Chief Medical Officer and Deputy County Administrator.
The County is encouraging different 1B priority groups to use different points of distribution. In accordance with the County’s accelerated COVID-19 vaccination plan, the County is in the process of establishing two other Regional Vaccination Centers, at Tucson Convention Center, in partnership with the City of Tucson, and at the University of Arizona, in partnership with the UA Health Sciences Center. Both of those are scheduled to open to 1B vaccinations next week. Tucson Medical Center also opens to 1B vaccination Jan. 15.
Plans are in the works for another center at Rillito Regional Park and in Green Valley in early February.
Those 75 and older are encouraged to be vaccinated at Banner – University Medicine North, TMC or the Kino Stadium site. The TCC will serve as the main hub for the protective services group, while those in the education group are encouraged to use the UA vaccination center.
“The Banner – University Medicine vaccination team in Tucson has created a safe and patient-friendly method of providing vaccinations to many of our most at-risk community members each day. We are thankful for the privilege of and continued opportunity to provide this life-saving vaccine to as many people in our community as we can,” said Chad Whelan, MD, chief executive officer of Banner – University Medicine.
To register for an appointment, people should go to www.pima.gov/covid19vaccineregistration. Pima County residents should not try to sign up via the state’s registration system at azdhs.gov.
Find further information about eligibility, updated vaccination numbers, FAQs and more at
pima.gov/covid19vaccine.