Tuesday, May 4, 2021
The University of Arizona plans to decommission its vaccination site as of June 25 and has announced new hours.
With the decline in vaccine demand and “as other avenues for vaccination become more readily available,” the UA POD plans to scale back its hours and on Monday transitioned to fully indoors at the Ina E. Gittings Building, closing the drive-thru as the days get hotter, announced UA President Robert C. Robbins at the university update on Monday morning.
At the start of next week the UA POD will shorten its hours to 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., then on June 1 will continue with new hours only offering second doses.
“We're going to stop taking first dose appointments, relatively soon, just to make sure that the second dose is booked here at the University of Arizona POD, so that we will finish all shots that we started here,” said Vice President of Communications Holly Jensen. More details here.
County launching mobile vax pods
As health officials work to overcome vaccine hesitancy among some members of the public, Pima County and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are teaming up to launch mobile vaccination units to reach vulnerable communities with high risks of COVID-19 exposure and infection.
The operation includes two mobile vaccination units (MVUs), able to administer 250 vaccines per day each, along with administrative staff and federal vaccinators with 70 personnel from FEMA, Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Labor, according to a county press release.
The University of Arizona plans to decommission its vaccination site as of June 25 and announced new hours last Thursday.
With the decline in vaccine demand and “as other avenues for vaccination become more readily available,” the UA POD plans to scale back its hours and on Monday transitioned to fully indoors at the Ina E. Gittings Building, closing the drive-thru as the days get hotter, announced UA President Robert C. Robbins at the university update on Monday morning.
At the start of next week the UA POD will shorten its hours to 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., then on June 1 will continue with new hours only offering second doses.
“We're going to stop taking first dose appointments, relatively soon, just to make sure that the second dose is booked here at the University of Arizona POD, so that we will finish all shots that we started here,” said Vice President of Communications Holly Jensen.
The new POD schedule will be:
TUCSON – It was a Tuesday afternoon, two months into the pandemic, when Theresa Guerrero got the call from her brother-in-law: Her son, Jacob, had been found unresponsive.
She was standing in the middle of a Ross store in south Tucson picking out a pillow he’d asked for, throwing it to the floor as she raced toward the exit.
Jacob was a cyclist, a tennis player – a trusting, good man – but he’d grown lethargic of late and quit pursuing his active lifestyle. The pandemic only made things worse.
He’d been working as a Postmates driver for a couple of months. One day, his mother saw straws in his car and wondered whether he was using cocaine. But when she confronted Jacob, he brushed her off.
“He was, like so many other people, really lonely, and I remember he would go on drives by himself just to get out of the house,” Guerrero said. “I have to wonder if he had been able to see other people, would they have noticed what he was going through before I did?”
By the time she drove the seven miles to Jacob’s house last May 30, six paramedics hovered over him. Guerrero doesn’t remember a lot about that moment, other than screaming out to strangers as they loaded her only son into an ambulance, assuming their silence meant the inevitable was coming.
She followed the lights and sirens to the hospital, but due to COVID-19 regulations, she had to stay outside and wait.
And wait.
Monday, May 3, 2021
The Tucson Parks and Recreation Department reopened its park ramadas on Monday for rent for groups of fewer than 75 people. This move is in line with Pima County's department of Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation, which opened park facilities for rent in late March.
According to Tucson Parks and Rec, ramadas are reserved for the full day (8 a.m. to 7 p.m.) for $25 for city residents and $30 for non-city residents. Some ramadas are equipped with electricity, picnic tables, grills, nearby playground equipment, restrooms and other amenities. Alcohol and amusement equipment permits are purchased separately.
Ramadas are available for rent at Reid Park, Fort Lowell Park, El Pueblo Park, Rudy Garcia Park, Escalante Park, Himmel Park and more.
Power at the ramadas is not guaranteed. Picnic tables are available, but Parks and Rec cannot guarantee their placement at specific ramadas. Open-pit fires are prohibited. Reservations may be made up to one year in advance.
For more information, visit tucsonaz.gov/parks/reservations-and-rentals
This week, Pima County and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are teaming up to launch mobile vaccination units to reach vulnerable communities with high risks of COVID-19 exposure and infection.
The operation includes two mobile vaccination units (MVUs), able to administer 250 vaccines per day each, along with administrative staff and federal vaccinators with 70 personnel from FEMA, Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Labor, according to a county press release.
The units will run through June 26, operating at two concurrent locations for three days, with one day to tear down and move to the next location. The locations were selected based on census tract data and the Social Vulnerability Index of the area to identify highly vulnerable communities.
“We’re extremely grateful to FEMA for partnering with us on this effort to reach pockets of the community who may not have easy access to this life-saving vaccine,” said Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry. “The ability to offer vaccines during evenings and weekends will enable us to reach folks whose work or school schedules prevent them from getting a vaccine now. With this effort, there’s truly no reason not to roll up your sleeve and get your shot so we can start putting this pandemic behind us.”
The sites will offer walk-up vaccinations of both the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine for those 18 and older on a first-come, first-served basis. Vaccinators will return to the same mobile site 28 days after their first visit to receive their second dose, following CDC guidance. Help will be available to all who need assistance with mobility, language or other accommodations.
Here are the planned mobile clinics:
May 7-9, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Casino del Sol, 5655 W. Valencia Road
- Desert Diamond Casino, 7350 S. Nogales Hwy.
May 11-13, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Greyhound Park, 2601 S. Third Ave.
- Wheeler Taft Library, 7800 N. Schisler Drive
May 15-17, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Rillito Race Track, 4502 N. First Ave.
- Curtis Park, 2110 W. Curtis Road
The county continues to offer vaccinations at several vaccination centers, mobile pop-up clinics and pharmacies. Visit pima.gov/covid19vaccine for more information.
No appointment necessary for the UA vax POD
You no longer need an appointment to get a shot at the UA vaccination point of distribution. The POD will now accept anyone over the age of 16 who comes in for a shot.
The pod has closed its drive-thru clinic because of rising temperatures, but still offers a sit-down clinic in the Ina E. Gittings Building (1737 E. University Blvd.) from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
If you’d rather schedule an appointment, the state is expected to open new first-dose appointments daily at podvaccine.azdhs.gov. Call 602-542-1000 or 844-542-8201 for help in English or Spanish.
If you need help, call the COVID Ambassador Team hotline at 520-848-4045 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily or email [email protected].
Meanwhile, Pima County officials are shifting to indoor vaccination sites to avoid making staff and volunteers endure long days in triple-degree temperatures.
Tucson Medical Center has shut down its drive-thru vaccination clinics and transferred its operations to the Udall Center, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road. The site is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. Register at https://vaccine.tmcaz.com/MyChart/OpenScheduling.
Pima County has opened a new indoor vaccine site at the Kino Event Center, where the county had earlier been doing COVID testing. That site is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Register at azdhs.gov.
The county has also opened an indoor vaccination POD at El Pueblo Center, 101 W. Irvington Road, which is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. No appointment is necessary.
The drive-through POD at Banner-South Kino Stadium, 2500 E. Ajo Way, is now offering appointments between 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and will close permanently on May 14.
As of Sunday, May 2, 402,679 people in Pima County had received at least one shot of the virus, accounting for 38.5% of the population. A total of 322,792 people were fully vaccinated.
For more information or additional mobile clinics, visit pima.gov/covid19vaccineregistration or call 520-222-0119.
Many local pharmacies are now receiving vaccine doses. To find one near you, visit the ADHS website.
Get tested: Pima County has free COVID testing
Pima County is continuing to offer a number of testing centers and pop-up testing sites around town, including the northside Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center, 1660 W. Ruthrauff Road. Schedule an appointment at pima.gov/covid19testing.
The University of Arizona’s antibody testing can determine if you have had COVID and now have antibodies. To sign up for testing, visit https://covid19antibodytesting.arizona.edu/home.
Today’s numbers
With 652 new cases reported today, the total number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases rose past 864,000 as of Monday, May 3, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County, which reported 72 new cases today, has seen 115,361 of the state’s 864,579 confirmed cases.
With no new deaths reported this morning, a total of 17,344 Arizonans have died after contracting COVID-19, including 2,395 deaths in Pima County, according to the May 3 report.
A total of 607 coronavirus patients were in the hospital as of May 2. That’s roughly 12% of the number hospitalized at the peak of the winter surge, which reached 5,082 on Jan. 12. The summer peak was 3,517, which was set on July 13, 2020. The subsequent lowest number of hospitalized COVID patients was 468, set on Sept. 27, 2020.
A total of 833 people visited emergency rooms with COVID-like symptoms on May 2. That number represents 35.5% of the record high of 2,341 set on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. That number had peaked during the summer wave at 2,008 on July 7, 2020; it hit a subsequent low of 653 on Sept. 28, 2020.
A total of 189 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on May 2, which roughly 16% of the record 1,183 ICU patients set on Jan. 11. The summer’s record number of patients in ICU beds was 970, set on July 13, 2020. The subsequent low was 114 on Sept. 22, 2020.
—with additional reporting from Austin Counts, Christina Duran, Jeff Gardner and Mike Truelsen
Arizona already has seen a few fires this year, and experts say the state is likely to experience another major year for wildfires.
In April alone, the Margo Fire in Pinal County burned about 1,100 acres, and another blaze continues to burn southwest of Heber. On Monday, a fire started southeast of Whiteriver and has burned 1,300 acres, according to InciWeb. Tiffany Davila, public affairs officer for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, said there likely will be widespread fire activity across the state by June.
One reason, Davila said, is plentiful dried vegetation that fuels fire.
“When we’re talking about early activity in those particular areas, central and southern Arizona, we still have a carryover of fine fuel from last year and some unburned areas,” Davila said. “It’s just pretty much an abundance of this grass fuel type.”
Arizona had one of the driest monsoon seasons on record last year, and much of the state is in severe to exceptional drought. That’s not expected to change any time soon.
