State Vaccination Site In Tucson Fills 12K Appointments In Hours

TUCSON, AZ — Tucsonans looking to get their hands on a coronavirus vaccine had a better chance for success Tuesday.

The Arizona Department of Health Services opened up approximately 12,000 vaccine appointments for Pima County's first state-run mass vaccination site on Tuesday at 9 a.m. By 11:30 a.m., all 12,000 slots were filled.

The new site will expand the existing vaccination efforts at the University of Arizona's Tucson campus.

The addition of state resources will add capacity and hours of operation to the site, which has been vaccinating Pima County residents in prioritized Phase 1b of the vaccination rollout. The 12,000 appointments were set aside for the days between Feb. 18 and March 6.

Officials said they hope to eventually operate the site 24 hours per day and seven days per week as more vaccine doses make their way to Arizona. At full capacity, the site can serve up to 6,000 people per day.

Registration for state site appointments are open at podvaccine.azdhs.gov in English or Spanish. Those without computer access or needing extra help registering can call 1-844-542-8201 for assistance.

The University of Arizona site is the state's third mass vaccination site, following the success of efforts at State Farm Stadium and Phoenix Municipal Stadium in the Phoenix-metro area.

More than 1.2 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered to date to 925,763 Arizonans, including 283,869 who have received both doses, according to state health officials.