The state of Arizona has currently up-scaled its coronavirus vaccine rollout. As of Monday, Jan. 18, Arizona medical professionals have administered 281,000 shots with 32,000 people having gotten the second dose.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey altered the vaccine phase schedule last week and lowered the age of those currently eligible to get the vaccine from 75 to 65.

Given the nature of the pandemic, an age limit like that among seniors is arbitrary at best. A 72-year-old and a 76-year-old face nearly identical health concerns. In Arizona, 8,391 seniors over age 65 account for 74% of Arizona’s total 11,266 deaths from COVID-19. So, it seems logical to give the vaccine to these seniors after front-line health care workers, teachers, police officers and others who interact with those most at risk of spreading the disease to others.

Incoming president-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 20, and has pledged that his administration will inoculate 100 million people with the vaccines in its first 100 days, which health experts say is entirely possible if state, local and the federal government immediately step up administering the vaccine into people’s arms.

The current problem is more than 31 million doses have been delivered to states but fewer than 15 million have actually been administered.

The issue is neither supply or demand but end-stage delivery.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stated last week that if hospitals and health care centers have a patient at their facility requesting the vaccine and he or she doesn’t quite fit into the categories or phases set by the state, just give them the shot anyway.

The goal of the phase system is to make sure no one cuts in line, but if somehow someone gets to the front of the line, just give them the vaccine.

Now, this is not carte blanche to bumrush hospitals and medical centers to demand vaccines, but rather underlines the urgency of getting the vaccine adminis­tered as fast as possible to as many people as possible. Mass inoculation is the goal, not the process.

Arizona’s counties, however, are behind the ball when it comes to informing the public. They are issuing press releases and answering questions from newspapers, media outlets and the public, but are woefully bad at getting this information out online, necessitating a phone call or roundabout method to get an answer.

Yavapai County, which includes most of Sedona and the rest of the Verde Valley, has a terrible website with almost no substantive information. Yavapai County employees are hardworking and dedicated, by the county website has been — and remains — garbage. Hard to navigate, lacking officials’ email addresses and linking mainly to pdfs rather than interactive web pages. The county’s COVID vaccine page is one for health care providers, not the general public, and offers little to no public information about whether anyone may be offering the vaccine even if a person is eligible.

As of press time, Yavapai County’s vaccine schedule pdf is also six days out of date and still does not list seniors between ages 65 and 75 as eligible to get the vaccine — as if no one heard Ducey lower the eligibility last week.

Coconino County’s website is easier to manage, but only 35% of Sedona’s population lives in that county, so it’s useless for residents in the rest of the Verde Valley. It at least mentions that mass vaccina­tion centers are operating at State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix area, but that appointments are booked up.

That said, for those who are wary of needles, or could face severe allergic reactions or simply don’t believe in the science of vaccines, you’re not obli­gated to get one. There are plenty of people in the line behind you willing to take your spot should you opt out.

The Biden administration may be able to get states and counties up to speed with a nationwide website or scheduling system, but if left to counties alone, 100 million inoculations is a longshot.

Christopher Fox Graham

Managing Editor