For weeks, COVID-19 cases in Arizona have held steady at 600-700 per day, as slackening vaccination rates contend with the dominant — and more infectious — U.K. variant, B.1.1.7.
But some experts see signs of hope on the horizon.
As vaccinations gradually move into pharmacies, mobile units and doctors' offices — and as the need for appointments and on-line registration dwindles — Joshua LaBaer, executive director of Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute, thinks more people will get them.
"And the hope there will be that people will take advantage of that. It won't disturb their work schedules as much if they can go and get vaccinated relatively quickly," LaBaer said.
LaBaer also hopes more local and convenient options will make the vaccine more accessible to members of minority groups such as Blacks and Hispanics. As a percentage of vaccinated Arizonans, those groups fall well below their population fraction.
