It’s been two weeks since COVID-19 vaccines became available to kids ages 5 to 11. Demand for vaccines has picked up statewide in that time.
Arizona has recently been administering about 24,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses per day on average, an 80% increase from one month ago, according to data from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
"We think that's probably due to a combination of people getting their booster shot and the recent availability of vaccines for children 5 to 11," said Jessica Rigler, assistant director for the division of public health preparedness with the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Rigler said about 41,000 Arizona children have already received their first dose of Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine. She hopes demand will continue to increase as more families find time to schedule appointments.
“We expect over the course of the next several weeks, as we head into Thanksgiving break and other times when school is closed, that we’ll see more children get vaccinated," Rigler said.
There’s still a long way to go. The 41,000 kids vaccinated so far make up just about 6% of that age group in Arizona.
