Arizona Opening New State Vaccination Site In East Phoenix

PHOENIX — The East Valley will be getting a vaccine boost from the state this week, officials said.

A new state-run vaccination site will open Wednesday at Chandler-Gilbert Community College, the Arizona Department of Health Services announced in a news release. Maricopa County said Thursday it planned to close the site, one of the county's busiest. ADHS said it worked over the weekend to keep the location open.

“We’re committed to making the COVID-19 vaccine accessible to all Arizonans. Keeping this successful vaccination site open and operating is an important step,” Gov. Doug Ducey said in a statement. “Arizona has called on the federal government to provide our state with more vaccine doses. As more supply becomes available, we’ll be ready to administer the vaccine and protect Arizonans.”

Dignity Health currently manages the vaccination site at the community college in partnership with Maricopa County. Dignity will end its work on Friday and ADHS will reopen the site four days later.

Due to the limited amount of vaccine currently allocated to the state, the new state-run site will initially operate from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. At full capacity, it will be able to vaccinate 12,000 people per day and operate 24/7.

The state said it will continue to provide doses of the Pfizer vaccine and will be available to provide second doses to anyone who received their first at the former county-run site. Appointments for both first and second doses will open for registration at 9 a.m. on March 1.

This is the Valley's third state-run site, following the success of State Farm Stadium in Glendale and Phoenix Municipal Stadium in Phoenix. Southern Arizona has one state-run site, located on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson. The state said plans are underway to provide sites in western and northern Arizona as well.

“A region with well more than half of our state’s population will now have three state-run vaccination sites that position Arizona to vaccinate large numbers rapidly as vaccine supplies expand,” ADHS Director Dr. Cara Christ said in a statement. “Arizona has proven that the state’s nationally recognized model for these vaccination sites is scalable and transferable to other locations. By combining state resources with the support of partners, we can continue getting more doses into the arms of Arizonans.”

First dose appointments are currently full at all state-run sites.

You can register for appointments once they become available online through the ADHS vaccination portal. Those without internet or who need additional assistance can call (602) 542-1000 or (844) 542-8201.