PHOENIX — Arizona Governor Doug Ducey issued an Executive Order Wednesday to speed up access to the COVID-19 vaccine in the state.
In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, the Governor's office says Ducey intends to streamline distribution and establish additional vaccination sites.
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Officials say instead of each county having their own implementation plans, Ducey wants the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) to implement a state-directed allocation model to ensure a uniform approach to the vaccination of high-risk and high-priority Arizonans.
In a tweet Wednesday afternoon, the Governor said in part, "This is a health emergency, and we need all levels of government and our health system operating as such. Vaccines don’t do any good sitting in a freezer.”
Across the country, news of delays in distributing the #COVID19 vaccine are being reported. While Arizona has avoided many of these issues, any delay in shots being given to Arizonans is unacceptable. 1/
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) December 30, 2020
In addition, the Governor says the state will be reporting daily on county-by-county vaccine administration data, providing full transparency for the public on the distribution of the vaccine across the state.
Local health departments must also provide notice to ADHS within 24 hours of proceeding to the next phase of vaccine distribution. Ducey says this will ensure that Arizonans have quick access to information to make informed decisions about their health and the health of their loved ones.
For more information on the state’s response to COVID-19, visit the Arizona Department of Health Services.